G^^ miiimiM
^ 3 1833 00096 8450
Gc 977.201 T4SDE v. 2
DeHart, Richard P. 1832-
1918,
Past amd freseht of-
Tippecanoe County, Indiana
PAST AND PRRSF.NT
OF
TIPPECANOE COUNTY
INDIANA
ILLUSTRATED
VOLUME II
B. F. BOWEN & COMPANY, PUBLISHERS
'^'•^ INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA
1 909
:21599
INDEX
Abdon, Joseph 751
Abdon, Mary Jane "51
Alexander, Robert 903
Amstutz, William A 113:!
Anderson, William H 1076
Andre, Adam W lOGS
Ankeny, Charles Howard 543
Arnett, Arett C 765
Arnold. Alba G 637
Arthur. Joseph Charles 757
B
Baer, Lena M 1152
Baird, Samuel Probasco 56S
Baird, Zebulon 560
Baker. Alvin Cornelius 1046
Baker, Edward Elmore 10S2
Baker, Moses 735
Balentine, Abram 724
Ball, James D 1070
Ball, Cyrus 626
Bals, Asa C 1208
Balser, John 829
Baines, Thomas Jefferson 572
Bartholomew, John C 1156
Bartholomew, William 1150
Bart let t, Joseph Delmar 646
Bauer, Thomas 631
Baugher, Franklin George 7G2
Bausman, Andrew 1048
Beaucond, Joseph Benjamin 764
Bennett. William 823
Bergquist, Charles 781
Blistain, Joseph 549
Bohan, George W 822
Born, Samuel 736
Boswell. Edwin 821
Bradshaw, Charles H 591
Briney, Alexander 879
Brockenbrough, Brown 926
Brommer, John C 1043
Brown. Louis 1094
Bruce, George Lawson 662
Buck, Milton 1161
Buck, Samuel 1134
Burditt, Daniel 843
Burditt, Nancy 843
Burkhalter, William Henry 1021
Hurley, John F 759
Burley , Mary A 759
Burt, Thomas William 608
Bush, John Stevens 784
Bush, Ezra 7S5
Bush, William 784
Butler, William F 912
Byers. Parker A 681
Byers, William D 1216
Byrne, Michael J 75G
C
Caldwell. Albert 731
Caldwell. James H 730
Caldwell, James Lindsey 730
Campbell, John 1093
Campbell, William S 1060
Cann, John William 782
Carter, James 1116
Carter, Robert 1116
Cartmill, David 997
Chamberlin, David J 605
Chamberlin, John E 605
Chew, Joshua 901
Christie. George Irving 953
Clawson, Louis 1040
Clayton. Mrs. Emeline 695
Clayton. Thomas J 695
Cleaver. Charles H 1136
Cochel, Wilber A 1054
Combs, James P 835
Combs, Sarah P 83G
•Conarroe, Thomas Xewell 978
Cones, Francis Marion 1121
Conn, Asahel B 98G
Conrad, E. Parker 1074
Coulter. Stanley 917
Coyner, Martin P 971
Crist, Charles Marsteller 999
Crouch, Jeptha 1015
Crouse. Alexander Hamilton CSo
Crouse, .lohn W nSS
Crouse, Simeon 587
Crouse, William 0 585
Cunningham. .lohn R lt)42
D
Davidson, Edward C 723
Davidson, Judah 619
Davidson. Robert P G18
Davisson, William C 97(i
Deibert, Jeremiah M 946
DeLong, Mannow Albert 1096
Dienhart. Jacob 919
Doolittle, W. E 887
Dorner, Frederick 565
Downs, Andrew J 112S
Dryer, Lyman Lewis 803
Dryfus. Ferdinand 937
Dry f us. Leopold S8S
Duncan Electric Mant'g. Co 1214
B
Eckhart, Balsar 1065
Etkhart. John C 1063
Edwards, Jeremiah 832
Ehresman, John H 1142
Elliott, David 1053
Elliott. Samuel Wilson 892
Ellis, Joseph 979
Ellis, Thomas 1084
Ellis, Thomas P 980
Erb, Frederick Henry. Jr 67G
Evans. Herman H 771
Everett, Frank B 981
F
Feldt. August G 1 ISG
Field, Thomas W 691
Fisher, Martin L 948
Fisher. William J 808
Flark. Hugh 580
Flack. John 1120
Flanagan, Daniel P 710
Flupgel, Ernst J 1114
Fokkemer. Charles V 649
Foreman. Charles Preston 942
Foresman. Bennett 1211
Foresman. John P C93
Foresman. William B 914
Fottprall, B. F 1087
Fowler Family 116u
Fowler, James M 1171
Frazer. Darius H 718
Fretz, Daniel B 787
G
Gagen, John P 815
Gay, James Madison 945
Gay. John W 776
Gay, Samuel 776
Gaylord, Harrison 904
Gladden Family 1193
Gladden. Richard 1194
Gladden. William 1194
Gladden, William. Jr 1195
Glaze, William 939
Gobat, Frederick August 860
Golden, Michael Joseph 1059
Goldsberry, Peter Putnam 1090
Goldsmith. Oliver C 844
Goodrich. Silas 0 1197
Gray, M. M 1069
Gi eenburg, William F 1189
Grubb, Lewis S 1187
Gude. William G 906
H
Hammond. Edwin P 632
Hanna.gan. Stephen J 861
Harding. Charles Francis 1154
Harshman. Isaiah 944
Hassel. Conrad 830
Hawk. Daniel 839
Haywood, Enoch Francis 1209
Haywood. George Price 533
Henderson. Charles Haskell 696
Henderson. Jones 696
Herriman. William. Jr 930
Hight, Robert Foster 584
Hill, Aaron S 749
Hill. John Allen 749
Hinea, Charles Benjamin 648
Hogan, Thomas W C9S
Hooker, Brainard G(j4
Hooker, Henry Cl4
Howell, Robert Henry 988
Hubertz, Edward 1127
Hudlow, William B 92U
Hunziker, Otto P 1222
Hurst, James 1131
J
Jackson, Daniel 9liii
Jackson, Ferdinand Cortez 11(18
Jackson, Sylvester H 773
Jackson, William Monholan 563
Jacobs, Duane D 84ti
Jamison, Albert R 708
Jamison, Hugh Seabaugh 570
Jester, Lewis X 880
Jones, William J., Jr 957
Jones, William Lyman 983
Justice, Xoah 1130
K
Kern, Frank D 91G
Kienly, Andrew 898
Kile, John P 1078
Kinimel, Frank 70G
Kinimel, John 70G
Kimmel. Louis 70G
King, Warren R 628
Koonse, Jeremiah Philip 741
Koonse, Virginia P 742
Kurtz, Charles 933
L
Lafayette Conservatory ot Music... 1152
Lairy, M. M 720
Latta, William C 951
Lee, George W 1089
LeGalley . Myron E 722
Lehnert, Michael 1066
Lentz. Moses A 1032
Lesley, Calvin 1118
Lesley, Daniel 1118
Lewis, James D 114G
Lewis, Robert 1147
Lofland, William Alfred 598
Lucas, William Kent C04
Ludy, Llewellyn V 1058
Lugar, Thomas Wilson 054
Lugar, William G54
Lyle, Thomas C80
Lyle, Urban A 680
Lyman, Edwin B 1205
Lyman, Harry B 1203
Mc
MeCabe, James Earl 10C2
MeCabe, Theodore 1202
McClure, Lawrence James 1002
McCorkle, Charles A 816
McCorkle, John W 989
McCormick, Owen 1141
McCormick, Thomas Jefferson 11U9
McCormick, William 1139
McCoy, John 1192
McCoy, Moraine 1191
McDill, Charles 9G2
McGrath. Robert Henry 766
McKee, Thomas G 760
McMahan. Adah 767
McMillin. John K 1182
M
Macak, Henry 1045
MacMullan, John W. T 1206
Madden, Joseph 1088
Marks, Thomas M 1019
Masters. James 1145
Masters, William G 1145
May, Jacob 837
Mayfield, A. M 1196
Meharry, Greenleaf Xorton 969
Mertz, Christian GOl
Meyer, Frederick 993
Mills, Daniel 806
Mitchell, John W 610
Mitchell, Josephine M 786
Mitchell, Samuel L 928
Mitchell, William C 777
Moflitt, William Robinson 659
Moore, Sarah A 834
Moore, Thomas Maxwell 876
Moore, William H 834
Moore, William H. H 761
Morehouse. Joseph Jennings 1105
Morehouse, Levi J 1106
Morgan. Lee Harry 5G2
Motter, Thomas Seymour 1010
Murdock, Charles 737
Murdofk, Frederick 881
Murdock, James 529
Murdock, John 882
Murdock, Samuel 531
Murdock, William F 88G
Murdock. William T 882
Myers, Amos 994
X
Naylor, Isaac 90
Neumann, Julius SC7
.Newhard, Simon Peter 1028
Newman, Christopher Columbus.... 824
Newman, John H 824
Newton, Doc 1 728
Nisley, Oliver Morton Co2
O
Oglesbay . George H 9(i5
Oglesbay, John P 965
Ohl. Charles W '. 109S
P
Parker, Henry Arnold SIO
Parks, George Daniel 827
Parlon, Thomas 9(;7
Paul, Alfred 804
Paul, Monford .• . 799
Paul. Reuben 799, 805
Peirce, Charles H 54S
Peirce, Martin Luther 540
Peirce, Oliver Webster OSi;
Peterson, Jonas A 930
Pfrommer, George J 595
Phillips, Morris Winfield 590
Potter. William S 725
Q
Quaintance, Ellis 9S4
R
Hausch, Casper 992
Rt'dinbo. John C F li:;s
Reeves. James L 893
Reeves, William 893
Rentschler, Michael 1037
Reser, Alva O G72
Reser, Harvey 960
Reule, Fred 754
Roberts. William A 574
Rochester. William King 712
Rosebery, William J 714
Rosser. John 1151
Rosser. Walter C 1151
S
Sample, Henry Taylor CS8
Sample. Robert W 592
Sattler, John 871
Sattler, George Henry 8C9
Schnaible, John 5(i7
Schnaible, Matt 582
Schnaible, Michael 589
Schultz, Anton 820
Schultz, Charles Henry 9G1
Schultz-Boswell Drug Company 820
Schumm. George Michael 742
Sense. Harry C 704
Sharpe, Burton Crouse 1030
Shaw, James B C78
Shearman, Albert Eugene 745
Shearman. Willett H 74G
Shelby, George B 803
Sheltmire, William 818
Shoup, A. W 1 104
Simison, Barney 1 184
Simison, David Parker 1024
Simison. Denny Boyd 1008
Simison, John Franklin 973
Simms, Daniel W 040
Skinner, John Harrison 1079
Skinner, John W 752
Slipher, David 1218
Smith, Arthur Bessey 1004
Smith, Benjamin Wilson S4S
Smith. W'illiam Werden 789
Smock. Richard M 1174
Snideman. Harry Madison OC<S
Snoddy, Alfred Nevin 1050
Stallard, Charles T 702
Stallard, Jacob M 700
Stallard, Samuel Thomas C99
Stiuitiehl. Allen 1073
Stanfield Family 1072
Stanfield. Samuel B 107:^
Steele, William Wellington 90S
Stein. John A 403
Stein, Mrs. Virginia 403
Sterrett, Joseph C 1163
Stewart, Joseph Xorris f>9o
Stillwell, William F 600
Stingle, James M ()22
Stone, Winthrop Ellsworth 531)
Stuart, Charles B 1199
Stuart, William Vaughn 612
Sullivan, Dennis T 934
Swisher, John B 1132
Swltzer, George W SOO
T
Taylor, Bennett 635
Taylor, Henry 616
Taylor, Jacob M 1007
Terry, Oliver P 1017
Test, Erastus 103S
Throckmorton, George K 770
Throckmorton. Ora E 1160
Titus, Harry Edward 670
Tower, E. A 115S
Towsley, Schuyler A 593
Troop, James 949
Tull. Luther 1123
Turner, Charles 940
V
Van Xatta, Aaron S74
Van Xatta, Job 644
Van Natta. Job Haigh 555
Van Xatta. J. Lynn 644
Vater. Septimius 864
Va wter. Everett B 921
Vawter. Philemon C 923
Vayou, E. E 1064
Vess. Filander Taylor 768
Vinton. Henry Heath 1173
Vyverberg. K. T 703
W
Wabash Valley Sanitarium and
Training School 1177
Wagoner, Robert Henry 1075
Walker, William Simpson 686
Wallace, Aaron 872
Wallace, James Bee 877
Wallace Machine and Foundry Co..' 578
Wallace, William 576
Walter, William J 1099
Ware, William H 975
Warner, John W 775
Washburn, Samuel S 624
Washburn, William Sanford 1056
Waters, Elmer Ritchey 1100
Weaver, Peter 1026
Weaver, William Otis 739
Webster, John Colbert 673
Welch, Amos 744
Westfall, Arthur Beaver 690
Wetherill, Richard B 1002
Whalen, John W 932
Whalen, Thomas H 780
Wiancko, Alfred T 955
Wiggins, Randolph 1035
Williams, Charles F 639
Williams, Robert 1212
Wilson, James 841
Wilson. Moses F 840
Wilson, William C 544
Winter, George 615
Wise, Joseph 1126
Wolf, Joseph 1111
Wood, William R 552
Wooden Railroad 1222
Y
Yeagy, William W 910
Yost. Allen A 1143
Yost, William H 1144
Young, William W 896
Z
Zimmerman, John 1148
J^/^i^<2'-Z^'Z>Z^^ ^^^Hy^-'C^^t^C^t^-ti^^
PAST AND PRESENT
OF
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND.
JAMES MURDOCK.
One of the most conspicuous figures ever connected with the business
interests of Tippecanoe and other counties of northern Indiana was the late
James Murdock, of Lafayette, who for a number of years was a leader in
enterprises which tended greatly to the material progress of his city, county
and state. He was long an influential factor in promoting large and important
undertakings and such was the success with which his various efforts were
crowned that his name is still suggestive of enterprises which bespeak the clear
brain, mature judgment and master mind of the natural leader who moved
among his fellows as one born to command. James Murdock was an Ameri-
can by adoption, but none the less a loyal citizen of the country which he
elected to be his home, and an ardent admirer and earnest supporter of free
institutions under which he reaped success such as few attain, and attained to
positions of honor and trust which none but men of a high order of intellect
are capable of filling. Born in the county of Sligo, Ireland, in the year 1837,
he inherited from his sturdy ancestors the sterling qualities of head and
heart for which his nationality has ever been distinguished, and while still
young gave evidence of those powers of mind which result in well-rounded
character and a natural aptitude for something above the ordinary in the
choice of a profession or calling. His father, John Murdock, was a Scotch-
man by birth, and his mother, who bore the maiden name of Sabina Kelly,
was born and reared on the Emerald Isle. These parents lived on a farm
in Ireland until 1848, when they emigrated to Canada, thence in 1830 removed
to New York, and still later changed their abode to Ohio, where they resided
for a limited period, or until moving to Wayne countv, Indiana, where John
(34)
530 PAST AND PRESENT
Murdock's death occurred in 1853; ^'s widow survived him about a quarter
of a century and departed this hfe at Lafayette in 1878, after reaching a ripe
old age.
James Murdock spent the years of his childhood on the homestead in his
native county and was indebted to such limited training as the schools of the
neighborhood afforded for his preliminary education. Coming to America
in his eleventh year, he attended for some time night schools in Canada and
the United States, and in 1853, after the death of his father, he started out
to make his own way by working at any kind of employment he could find.
Coming to Lafayette that year, he worked for a while in a brickyard, drove a
team for some months, and later in partnership with his brother engaged in
farming on a small scale, renting for the purpose the river bottoms near the
city, but meeting with only fair success in the venture. Not satisfied with
his earnings as a tiller of the soil, he discontinued farming and in 1859
embarked in the grocery and produce business at Lafayette, which he con-
tinued for twenty years with encouraging financial success. In the mean-
time Mr. Murdock turned his attention to various other lines of enterprise,
such as the building of bridges, taking contracts for the construction of gravel
roads, railroads and other public work, which he carried on in connection
with his mercantile interests and which from the beginning proved success-
ful beyond his expectations. He also manifested an active interest in public
afifairs, and after serving a term as township trustee was elected sheriflf of
Tippecanoe county, the duties of which office he discharged with credit to
himself and to the satisfaction of the people, proving in this as in other posi-
tions which he held from time to time, a capable and thoroughly trustworthy
public servant.
In 1879, JNIr. Murdock was appointed warden of the State Prison at
Michigan City, and held the position for a period of twelve years, during
which time he left nothing undone for the good of the institution and the
welfare of the inmates, and ere resigning the office the Northern Indiana
Penitentiary not only ranked among the best regulated prisons in the United
States, but was pronounced by competent judges a model of its kind. Shortly
after the discovery of natural gas in Indiana, he was among the first to develop
and exploit the industry. Associated with a number of business men of Lafay-
ette and Chicago, he took a leading part in organizing the Citizens' Natural
Gas Company, of which he was elected president, and later he assisted in
organizing several other natural and artificial gas companies in Indiana and
Ohio, the success of which was largely due to his interest and capable manage-
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 53 1
ment. He served some years as president of the Indiana School Book Com-
pany, which was organized in 1888, and in 1890 he was one of the organizers
of the Merchants' National Bank of Lafayette, of which he was made the
chief executive official. In addition to the above enterprises he was identified
with various other local industries, besides having large and valuable farm-
ing and livestock interests in dififerent parts of Tippecanoe county, from which
he derived no small share of the liberal income of which he was the recipient.
Of broad mind and liberal tendencies, he took large views of men and things,
was calculated by nature and training for important undertakings and as a
leader in the various enterprises with which identified, he proved worthy
of every trust reposed in him, and discharged his duties with such conscientious
fidelity that no suspicion of dishonor was ever attached to his name. His was
indeed an active and useful life ; his influence in promoting the business inter-
ests and material advancement of his own and other cities of northern Indiana
was greater perhaps than that of any of his contemporaries. One of the notable
men of his day and generation, he laid broad and deep the foundation upon
which the future prosperity of his city and county very largely depends, and
that his labors are destined to constitute a monument to his memory, more
enduring than marble or granite or bronze, is the belief of all who knew and
were familiar with his enterprises and achievements.
Mr. Murdock was married July 4, i860, to Miss Joanna Bourk, who
bore him ten children, only three of whom survive, viz. : Charles and Sam-
uel, sketches of whom appear elsewhere in these pages, and a daughter Mary,
who is single and lives at the family home in Lafayette. Mrs. Murdock died
October 29, 1891, and on November 27, 1908, James Murdock finished his
life work and went to his reward, his death being' deeply regretted by the
people among whom he had so long lived and wrought.
Samuel Murdock, son of James and Joanna (Bourk) Murdock, was
born in Lafayette, Indiana, June 11, 1868, and attended during the years of
his childhood and youth St. Mary's parochial school, where he received quite
a thorough educational discipline. In 1879, when his father became a warden
of the Northern Prison, he entered Notre Dame University, where in due time
he completed a full course in civil engineering, and some years later he was
made superintendent of the street car system of Michigan City, which position
he held from 1887 to 1888 inclusive, resigning in the latter year to become
secretary of the Citizens' Natural Gas Company of Lafayette. Mr. Murdock
entered upon the duties of the latter office in Februar)^ 1889, and it was dur-
ing his incumbency that gas was piped from the central Indiana fields to La-
532 PAST AND PRESENT
fayette. up lo that time the largest and most important enterprise of the kind in
the state. Subsequently the above company was merged into the Lafayette
Gas Company, which took over both the Citizens' Natural Gas Company and
the Lafayette Artificial Gas Company, also the Electric Light Company.
Since the reorganization referred to in the preceding sentence, the Lafayette
Gas Company has been merged into the Indiana Lighting Company, which
operates in the following cities of this state: Peru, Wabash, Ft. Wayne,
Frankfort and Lebanon, also a number of places in Ohio, including Lima, St.
Mary's, Wapakoneta, Ft. Recovery, Greenville and Celina, of which large
and important enterprises Samuel Murdock is secretary and general manager.
About the year 1898, Mr. Murdock and his brother Charles became inter-
ested in traction lines and now have extensive holdings in a number of such
properties, the subject being a director in the Ft. Wayne & Wabash Valley,
Evansville & Southern Indiana, and the Chicago, South Bend & Northern
Indiana traction companies, being secretary of the company last named, also
a director of the Monon railway.
From the foregoing it will be perceived that Mr. Murdock is a man of
action as well as ability, and that he has discharged worthily the various
important trusts with which he has been honored is demonstrated by the con-
tinued success of the enterprises with which he is identified. He is essentially
a busy man, and though afifable in his relations with others, companionable
to a marked degree and fond of congenial company, he long since decided to
act upon the motto, "Time is money. I have neither to spend save in the
prosecution of my business interests." In person he is tall and commanding,
fully six feet in height, with broad shoulders, well knit frame — in fine, just
such a man to engage in large undertakings and carry to successful conclusion
anything to which he may address his talents. Possessing executive ability
of a high order, he manages with apparent ease what the majority of men
would find burdensome, and being systematic in all he does, his labors and
responsibilities, although great, cause him little concern.
Mr. Murdock's domestic life dates from November 6, 1890, when he was
united in marriage with Addie Gordon, of Elkhart, Indiana, daughter of
Alexander Gordon, of that city, the union being blessed with three children,
James Gordon, Alexander Gordon and Alice Gordon Murdock. In his
religious faith Mr. Alurdock is a Catholic, belonging to St. Mary's church,
Lafayette, and in politics he is a Democrat, but not a partisan nor an aspirant
for public honors. He and his wife move in the best society circles of their
city, and those who know them best speak in the highest praise of their many
sterling qualities.
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 533
GEORGE PRICE HAYWOOD.
The Haywood family has long been prominent in the affairs of Tippe-
canoe county, materially, politically and socially, having come here in the
pioneer days, from which time to the present no member has by word or
deed dimmed the luster of an honored escutcheon. A worthy and well-known
representative of this fine old family is George Price Haywood, an attorney
of Lafayette, whose name needs no introduction to the people of this locality.
He was born on a farm in the southern part of Tippecanoe county, December
15, 1852, the son of Henry and Martha (Sherwood) Haywood, the former
a native of Trenton, New Jersey, and the latter of North Carolina. Henry
Haywood was reared in Greene county, Ohio, and early turned his attention
to farming, which he followed all his life. He came to Tippecanoe county
when a young man, having married in Montgomery county, Indiana,
where he lived a short time. It was in 1833, soon after his marriage,
that he came to Tippecanoe county, being among the early settlers. He be-
came a prosperous . farmer. He established a good home, and lived here
the remainder of his life, dying at the age of seventy-nine years in 1891, his
wife having preceded him to the silent land in 1877, when fiftj'-five years of
age. Mr. Haywood was a man of many fine traits of character. The Hay-
woods came to America from England in the colonial days. The Sherwoods
were also of English descent, grandfather Sherwood having been a pioneer
in Tippecanoe county. He later moved to Marion county, Iowa, in which
state he died, having reached a very old age.
George P. Haywood was the seventh child in order of birth in a family
of eleven children, eight of whom grew to maturity. Two brothers, Thomas
and Curtis D., served in the Union army, in Indiana regiments. The former
is still living in Lafayette, while the latter is deceased.
Two other brothers are now living, Enoch F., a landowner in Tippecanoe
county, who lives in Lafayette, Indiana, and Benjamin S., a minister of the
Methodist Episcopal church who, at the present time, is the superintendent of
the church and its affairs in Porto Rico.
George P. Haywood was reared on a farm, where he laid the foundation
for a robust manhood and learned many lessons which have helped to mould
his subsequent career. He attended the district schools until he was sixteen
years old, then entered the academy at Green Hill, where he remained two
years, and later took a scientific course at Valparaiso University, then known
534
PAST .\ND PRESENT
as the Northern Indiana Normal. He was graduated from the last named
institution in 1876.
Mr. Haywood started in life as a teacher, which profession iie followed
most of the time for eight years, having begun when nineteen years old, but
the law had its attractions for him, and in 1877 he began studying for a
career as an attorney with Bartholomew & Smith at Valparaiso He taught
school in the meantime until 1880, in which year he was admitted to the bar
in Lafayette. After this he continued the study of law for two years in the
ofifice of G. O. & A. O. Behm. In the spring of 1882 he formed a partner-
ship with W. F. Bechtel, the firm being known as Bechtel & Haywood, which
continued until the fall of 1884, after which he continued alone in the practice
of the law until ]\Iarch i, 1896, when he formed a partnership with Charles
A. Burnett, under the firm name of Haywood & Burnett, which partnership
has continued until the present time. His practice has steadily grown from
the first, and he is now rated as one of the leading attorneys in a community
long noted for the high order of its legal talent, the present firm of which
Mr. Haywood is a member being an especially strong one. and having a
clientele second to none in the county.
In his political relations Mr. Haywood is a Republican, having long
taken a very active interest in the party's affairs until he has become a leader,
his advice and counsel often being sought by local politicians and office seekers.
In 1882. Mr. Haywood was a candidate for the nomination for prosecuting
attorney, but was defeated. In 1884, he was again defeated for the nomina-
tion for the same office; but in 1886 he was successful in securing the nomina-
tion, and was elected, taking charge of the office November i. 1887. In the
fall of the following year he was re-nominated and re-elected, ably serving
two terms of two years each, his tenure of office ending on November 7, 1891.
According to his constituents, the office never had a more painstaking and
loyal exponent. During those four years there were seven murder cases, and
six convictions were secured. The one failure was a second trial, having
received a life sentence previously. The most noted case was the one known
as the Pettit case, in which a IMethodist minister was charged and convicted
of poisoning his wife by strychnine. He was tried on a change of venue
from Tippecanoe to Montgomery county in 1890. The trial lasted six weeks.
Hon. A. B. Anderson, the present United States district judge, of Indian-
apolis, was the prosecuting attorney of Montgomery county at that time and
assisted in the prosecution.
In the spring of 1892 Mr. Haywood was nominated by the Republican
state convention as reporter of the supreme court, but he met defeat with the
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 535
balance of the state ticket in the election of that year. In the spring of 1894
he was appointed city attorney by the city council of Lafayette, and was re-
appointed from time to time, holding this office for a period of twelve years,
handling its affairs in such a manner as to reflect credit upon his natural ability
as an able and far-seeing attorney, and at the same time being of incalculable
good to the city, his record being one of which anyone might be justly proud.
He was called upon to serve as chairman of the Republican county central
committee, which he did for a period of two years, 1894 and 1895, when he
won the hearty approval of all concerned for his conscientious work in behalf
of the Republican ticket.
Mr. Haywood is a stockholder and vice-president of the Burt-Haywood
Printing Company, publishers of the Lafayette Daily and Weekly Journal,
the plant being a very extensive and complete one, equipped with modern ap-
pliances for doing- all kinds of up-to-date publishing. The Journal wields a
strong influence in the moulding of public opinion in this part of the state.
On October i, 1879, occurred the wedding of Mr. Haywood to Mary
Marshall, at Montmorenci, this county. Mrs. Haywood is a native of Spring-
field. Ohio, a talented and cultured lady, who has been a favorite in Lafayette
social circles since coming here. She is the daughter of Solomon and Mary
J. ( Wright) Marshall, the former an honored and influential resident of
Tippecanoe county, the latter deceased. The beautiful home of Mr. and Mrs.
Haywood has been blessed by the birth of three children, namely : Leona, the
wife of Roy E. Adams, of Indianapolis, was a student at Smith University,
one of the most noted institutions for voung ladies in the east; Marshall E.,
who is the secretary and treasurer of the Burt-Haywood Printing Company,
graduated from Princeton L'niversity in the class of 1907: George P.. Jr., is a
student at Princeton.
In his fraternal relations Mr. Haywood is a member of Tippecanoe
Lodge, No. 492, Free and Accepted Masons ; Knights Templar Commandery,
No. 3, Lafayette: Scottish Rite, and the Ancient Arabic Order of Nobles of
the Mystic Shrine, at Indianapolis; he also belongs to the Benevolent and
Protective Order of Elks at Lafayette. ]\Irs. Haywood is a member of the
Trinity Methodist Episcopal church, and is very active and influential in
church and charitable work in tlie city.
In all the relations of life JMr. Haywood has been true to every trust
reposed in him and he takes first rank among the representative, loyal, public-
spirited and broad-minded citizens of Tippecanoe county, where lie is known
and respected by all classes, rightly deserving- the high esteem in which lie is
536 PAST ,\ND PRESENT
held, although he is himself of a very unostentatious nature, straightforward
and genial. One of the best things that can be said of any man can be
said of Mr. Haywood, that is. that he is always loyal and true to his
friends.
WINTHROP ELLSWORTH STOXE. Ph. D.. LL. D.
Winthrop Ellsworth Stone, Ph. D., LL. D., president of Purdue
University and distinctively one of the eminent educators of his day, is a
native of New England and an honorable representative of one of the oldest
families in that section of the Union, being of the tenth generation in descent
from Simon Stone, who immigrated to the New World in 1630 and located
at Cambridge. Massachusetts. This ancestor, who was one of the first promi-
nent settlers of Massachusetts Bay Colony, early became interested in the
development and growth of the country and being a man of sound practical
intelligence and -much more than ordinary force, it was not long until he rose
to a position of prominence and influence among the people, and in various
ways rendered efficient service in directing their affairs. Lauson Stone, the
Doctor's grandfather, was a native of Chesterfield, New Hampshire, and by
occupation a farmer. He spent the greater part of his life at or near the place
of his birth, but for many years has been sleeping the sleep of the just in the
old cemetery at Chesterfield, where also reposes the dust of a number of his
ancestors, as the family lived for several generations in that old historic
town.
Among the children of Lauson Stone was a son by the name of Frederick
L.. whose birth occurred at the ancestral home in Chesterfield, New Hamp-
shire, and who, in his young manhood, contracted a marriage with Anna But-
ler, of the same place. Like many of his antecedents, Frederick Stone became
a tiller of the soil, which vocation he f^jllowed in his native commonwealth
for a number of years, and then removed to Amherst. ^lassachusetts. where
he and his good wife are now living in honorable retirement. Literesting to
a marked degree were many of the sterling characteristics of the family,
and he, too, achieved considerable local distinction, and during the years
of his prime was one of the leading Republicans of the community. Fred-
erick L. and Anna Stone have always been held in high esteem in their differ-
ent places of residence. Imbued with the New England idea of education, they
spared no pains nor expense in providing the most thorough intellectual dis-
cipline obtainable for their children, all four of whom, three sons and one
WINTHROP ELLSWORTH STONE, PH.D., LL. D.
TRESIIIKXT ITRDIK I'MVERSITV.
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 537
daughter, are college graduates and filling honorable stations in life, Winthrop
Ellsworth, the oldest, achieving distinction as an educator and Harlan, a
younger brother, being a member of one of the leading law firms of New
York city.
Dr. Winthrop Ellsworth Stone was born in the old town of Chester-
field, New Hampshire, June 12, 1862, and spent his early life pretty much
after the manner of the majority of New England lads. During the summer
months his employments were such as are common to farmer boys, and when
not at work in the fields he attended the public schools, where he made rapid
advancement in his studies, and in due time gave promise of the intellectual
development for which he afterwards became noted. To these early years
under the tutelage of parents whose highest ambition was to engraft upon
the minds and hearts of their children such principles as would insure careers
of usefulness. Dr. Stone is largely indebted for the integrity of character and
honorable ambition that pre-eminently distinguish him not only in his pro-
fession, but as a citizen in every walk of life. The frugalities of the farm-
er's home, the chaste purity of its influence, the fields, the forest, the orchard
and meadow, hill and dell — all the wealth and beauty that nature spreads out
with lavish hands — were teachers whose lessons he never forgot. It was
amidst such scenes and surroundings that the early years of the future edu-
cator were spent and their influence was such that he is still a lover of nature
and a student of its mysteries.
Applying himself closely to his studies, young Stone, at the age of six-
teen, was sufficiently advanced to take a higher grade of work, accordingly
in 1878 he entered Massachusetts Agricultural College at Amherst, which he
attended during the four years ensuing, when he was graduated with an
honorable record as a student. Receiving his degree of Bachelor of Science
in 1882, he spent the following two years as scientific assistant and observer
on a private experimental farm, which had been established some time before
at Mountainville, New York, by a wealthy man desirous of arousing an inter-
est in advanced methods of agriculture. At the expiration of the period indi-
cated, he returned to Massachusetts and after devoting the succeeding two
years to scientific study in the chemical laboratory of Massachusetts Agricul-
tural College, went abroad in 1886, from which time until 1888, inclusive, he
studied chemistry in the University of Goettingen. Germany, receiving from
that institution the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the latter year.
Returning to the United States upon the completion of his course, Doctor
Stone, in August of the same year, entered upon his duties as chemist to the
experimental station of the University of Tennessee, to which position he had
been appointed a few months previously and which he continued to fill with
538 PAST AND PRESENT
ability and credit until his resignation one year later to become professor of
chemistry in Purdue University, Lafayette, Indiana. Doctor Stone's repu-
tation as a chemist had preceded him to the latter institution and upon the
beginning of his work, in October, 1889, he was receixed by officials and pro-
fessors as well as students with every mark of approbation and confidence.
Fortified with superior professional training under some of the most dis-
tinguished scientists of Europe, he infused new life into his department, popu-
larized the study of chemistry and was soon surrounded by a large number of
enthusiastic students, who, profiting by his instructions, in due time carried
their knowledge to other fields, where many of them are now filling places of
honor and usefulness in various lines of industry'. Doctor Stone filled the
chair of chemistry with credit to himself and to the satisfaction of the officials
of the university and all others concerned until June, 1900. in the meantime,
1892, being appointed vice-president of the institution, which position he held
in connection with his other work for several j-ears, discharging his official
duties with the same interest he manifested in the class-room, and proving an
influential factor in attracting students and putting Purdue on the way to
become what it has since become, one of the most thorough and popular tech-
nical schools in the West. During the absence of President Smart, in 1899,
he was acting president, and when it became necessary to appoint a successor
to the former gentleman. Doctor Stone, appearing to meet every requirement
of the position and being the unanimous choice of the board, was duly chosen
president in July, 1900. and has since held the place, discharging his official
functions with the best interests of the university in view and forging rapidly
to the front among the distinguished educators not only of Indiana but of the
country at large.
Dr. Stone has been identified with Purdue for a period of twenty years,
ten as a member of the faculty, and ten as chief executive of the institution.
While professor of chemistry, he did much scientific work, made many impor-
tant researches and discoveries, and gave the results of his investigations to
the world in a number of scholarly papers and treatises, published in this
country and in various periodicals abroad. As an instructor he easily ranked
among the most thorough and efficient in the land and, as already indicated,
students from his department have achieved distinction as teachers, and in
various other lines of usefulness, the demand for their services attesting the
thoroughness of their training and their ability to fill worthily the positions
to which they have been called. As a faculty member, he was active in the work
of committees, being for several years chairman of the committee on athletics,
and in this connection had much to do with the organization of the Inter-
collegiate -Athletic Conference, which has had an important bearing and
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 539
influence on athletics not only in western colleges and universities but
wherever such organizations were in existence.
The growth of Purdue since Doctor Stone became president is the high-
est testimonial that could possibly be paid to his ability and foresight as an
executive and to his eminent standing as a broad-minded, scholarly and enter-
prising educator. Since taking charge of the responsible position which he
now so worthily holds and so signally honors, the advancement of the uni-
versity has kept pace with the leading institutions of the kind in the United
States, the attendance increasing from eight hundred and forty-nine in 1900
to one thousand, nine hundred and thirty-six in 1909, the number and capacity
of the buildings having more than doubled during the interim, while the value
of the university property has advanced from seven hundred two thousand
dollars to one million, two hundred and eighty-five thousand dollars, and
the annual income, which was about one hundred twenty-five thousand
dollars the former year, now amounts to considerably in excess of four hun-
dred thirty thousand dollars. The faculty, which formerly numbered sixty-
five professors and instructors, now contains the names of one hundred and
fifty, among whom are some of the leading educators of the country, in their
special lines of work, no pains nor expense being spared in securing the best
ability obtainable in order to keep the institution at the high standard to which
it has been raised since the present administration has directed and controlled
its policies and affairs. As a technical school, admittedly the equal of the
best in the land, its work is so thorough and its reputation so high that hun-
dreds of students are attracted to its walls every year from other and distant
states, satisfied that a degree from the institution affords the best and surest
passport to a successful and honorable career in this world of industry or
scholarship.
Doctor Stone has always stood for the highest grade of work in the class-
room. Economy in the use of the public funds and thoroughness in all mat-
ters coming within the sphere of his authority. He exercises the greatest
care over the buildings and grounds, looks after the comfort and welfare of
students, and, being proud of the university and jealous of its good name and
honorable reputation, it is easily understood why he enjoys such great pop-
ularity with all connected with the institution, and is so well and favorably
known in educational circles throughout the country. Though still a young
man, he has achieved success such as few attain, but not satisfied with past
results, he is pressing forward to still wider fields and higher honors, altliough
his place among the eminent men of his day and generation is secure for all
time to come. Doctor Stone has ever pursued a straightforward course and
his manly, independent spirit commands fnr him universal approbatinn. He
540 PAST AND PRESEXT
has proven himself equal to every emergency in which he has been placed
and to every position with which honored, and as a ripe scholar and gentleman
of cultivated tastes and high ideals he fills a large place in the public view
and enjoys to a marked degree the esteem and confidence of all with whom
he comes into contact. In addition to his professional duties, he served one
term as chairman of the school board of West Lafayette and for a number of
years has been identified with the American Association of Agricultural Col-
leges, being at this time a member of the executive committee of this organiza-
tion. Since becoming a citizen of Indiana he has been active and influential
in the work of the State Teachers' Association, also with the affairs of the
state board of education, of which he is an ex-officio member. Though first
of all an educator and making his work as such paramount to every other
consideration. Doctor Stone has not been remiss in his duty to the community
in which he resides, nor unmindful of his obligations as a citizen. A Repub-
lican in politics and thoroughly abreast of the times on the leading questions
and issues concerning which men and parties divide, he is not a partisan and
in local affairs gives his support to the best qualified candidates, irrespective
of party ties. He also manifests an abiding interest in the growth and wel-
fare of his adopted city, is a stockholder in the Merchants' National Bank of
Lafayette and aims to keep in close touch with every enterprise and movement
which has for its object the social advancement and moral welfare of his fel-
low men.
Doctor Stone, on June 24, 1889, contracted a matrimonial alliance with
Victoria Heitmueller, a native of Prussia and the daughter of Ferdinand and
Bertha Heitmueller, who also were born in that country. Airs. Stone was
reared and educated in her native land and has presented her husband with
two sons, David Frederick, born April 2. 1890. and Richard Henry, whose
birth occurred on September 25. 1892. Doctor Stone and wife are members
of the Second Presbyterian church of Lafayette, he being one of the elders
of the society. They are actively interested in all work under the auspices of
the church, besides contributing of their means and influence to the furtherance
of various charities and humanitarian enterprises in their own and other
cities.
MARTIN LUTHER PEIRCE.
Words of praise or periods of encomium could not clearly convey the
personal characteristics of the noble gentleman of whom the biographer now
essays to write in this connection, for only those who had the good fortune
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 54I
to know him personally could see the true beauty of his character and indi-
vidual traits, which were the resultant, very largely, of a long life of devotion
to duty, a life filled with good deeds to others and led along worthy planes,
for during his long business career, he having been for some time the oldest
business man in Tippecanoe county, the late Martin L. Peirce endeavored to
be an advocate of the Golden Rule. He was born in Portsmouth, New Hamp-
shire, June 26, 1806, in which city he received his education in the common
schools. He was descended from the family of Peirces that located at Kit-
tery, Maine, nearly one hundred and fifty years ago, where his father, Dr.
Nathaniel S. Peirce, was born during the last days of the American Revolu-
tion. When the latter was twenty-three years old he edited and published
the New Hampshire Gazette at Portsmouth for several years. The paper was
then fifty years old and in 1889 it was the oldest newspaper in the United
States.
In March, 1821, Martin L. Peirce, as a clerk, entered the counting room
of C. & C. W. Peirce, commission merchants of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,
where he remained until 1828. Then he came to the middle West to grow
up with the new country where he deemed greater opportunities existed
for one of his temperament, and, having a rare executive ability and keen
foresight, he soon got a foothold and became prosperous. From 1836 he was
an active business man in the city of Lafayette. Taking an interest in public
afifairs, he was elected sherifif of Tippecanoe county in 1840 and again in 1842
on the Whig ticket. He afterwards refused two nominations, one for county
treasurer and one for county clerk. For the seven years following he was
the directing member of Hanna, Barbee & Company, grain and commission
dealers.
January 7, 1850, Mr. Peirce was married to Emma L. Comstock, of Hart-
ford, Connecticut, the daughter of Deacon Comstock of that city, and to this
union four children were bom, two of whom died in youth. Charles H.,
and Lizzie P., who married Fred W. Ward, survived. Mr. and Mrs. Peirce
also reared two other children, Oliver W. and Richard G. Peirce.
In 1854 Martin L. Peirce went into the banking business as a member of
the firm of Spears, Peirce & Company, under the name of the Commercial
Bank of Lafayette, and in 1863 the name of this thriving institution was
changed to the First National Bank of Lafayette, of which Mr. Peirce was
elected president, which position he held until his death, managing the afifairs
of the bank in such an able manner as to give it wide prestige and establishing
it on as solid a basis as any bank in the state. This bank was reorganized
June I, 1882. This was among the first banks of its nature organized under
54- PAST AND PRESENT
the national banking law in the United States, its original number being twenty-
six, all of which charters were issued the same day. Mr. Peirce was also
vice-president of the Lafayette Savings Bank, which he was instrumental in
organizing. He was treasurer of Purdue University from the date of its
organization until his death. He was also a trustee of Franklin College and
of the Chicago University, having always taken a very active interest in edu-
cational affairs, and no small part of the success of the above named in-
stitutions was due to his wise counsel in the management of their affairs.
He was especially interested in the success of Purdue University from the
first — in fact, he was its first treasurer. He is said to have been the first
to suggest to John Purdue the founding of this university. The two men
were closely associated and one day when they were riding together they
passed a cemetery where a thirty-six-thousand-dollar monument stood. They
commented on the useless waste of so large an amount of money, and Mr.
Peirce suggested to Mr. Purdue that he leave a more useful monument to
his memory by leaving a large sum to a college to bear his name. In this
suggestion others urged Mr. Purdue in this matter, and the great Purdue
University of today is the result.
Mr. Peirce, in his fraternal relations, was a Mason, having identified him-
self with this ancient and honored order in 1840. In 1867 he visited the Paris
Exposition as representative of the Scottish-rite Masons of the United State?,
and he attended the grand banquet of the Grand Orient of Paris, where
eleven hundred delegates, representing every civilized country in the world,
assembled. This was a distinction of which any one might well l3e proud.
While abroad he visited the principal countries of Europe and the British
Isles. He had the distinction of being the first member initiated into Tippe-
canoe Lodge, No. 55, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in Lafayette. Since
1843 to the time of his death, December 28, 1889, he was an active and promi-
nent member of the First Baptist church. At various times he made liberal
donations to the church and to Purdue University, the fine greenhouse on the
grounds of the latter being the result of his generosity. He was originally
a Free Soiler, but ever since the organization of the Republican party he
was a loyal supporter of the same.
At the national convention of bankers at Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, in 1887,
he was a delegate, being the oldest of between three and four hundred
bankers in attendance. He was held in highest esteem by the members of
that association, by members of the lodges with which he was identified, in
fact by all classes, for he had sterling traits of character which commended
liini t" all, enjoying tb.e unqualified confidence of his fellow citizens. His long
TIPl'liCANOE COUNTY, INl). 543
and eminently useful life was replete with success because he worked for it
in an honorable manner, his life work having been nobly planned and singular-
ly free from blot or stain, or even the suspicion of evil, his entire career
being marked by generous acts. The suffering, the worthy poor, the deserv-
ing young man, the church, the cause of education, never appealed to liim
in vain. He gave liberally, ungrudgingly and unostentatiously, being-
prompted by the broad charity which he felt rather than by any desire to
make a display, his only hope of reward being the consciousness of doing
good. As a financier and banker-captain of industry, his sound judgment,
unusual executive ability and fidelity to duty placed the institutions with
which he was connected in the front rank of their kind. He was truly a
consecrated Christian man. anil it was in his home life that his character shone
w'nh peculiar luster — the tenderness in his nature created idols out of its loves
and his wife, children and grandchildren were its loves. Truly he was a
good man like that mentioned in Holy Writ "whose life w-as as a shining
light."
CHARLES HOWARD ANKENY.
Though the dead are soon forgotten, few will linger longer in the
memory of citizens of Lafayette than the late Charles Howard Ankeny. This
is due to the fact that he had the qualities which impress men. Prominent
and prosperous in business, he established a character for integrity, public
spirit and the social amenities of life. Modest and unassuming, he was really
a man of great force of character and usually found in the lead when any
movement was on foot for the betterment of the city. Tenacious of his own
rights, he respected the rights of others, and in the best sense of the term he
was always a gentleman in social intercourse, as well as a model citizen in
affairs affecting the public. There was no more active member of the Mer-
chants and Manufacturers' Exchange and the Lafayette Commercial Club.
He was a lover of his home and family, noted for gentleness and kindness
and the "soft answer that turneth away wrath." The record he left will long
be an inspiration to those who knew and loved him best and Lafayette has
never had a worthier name on her roll of honorable citizenship. This well-
known business man was a son of Peter and Sabra Ankeny, born in Wash-
ington, Guernsey county, Ohio, October 2, 1844. At the breaking out of the
Civil war, though only sixteen years old, he was anxious to become a soldier
for the Union, but owing to his slight physique was not allowed to enlist. He
544 P-^ST AND PRESENT
overcame the difficulty, however, by becoming a drummer boy in Company C,
Sixtieth Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry. With his command he went to
the front and when he was discharged, November 22, 1862, 'he had attained
the rank of sergeant. After leaving the army he obtained employment with
Duhme& Company, the famous jewelry firm of Cincinnati, but only remained
with them a short time, as he went into business for himself in 1864, as
proprietor of a jewelry store at Richmond, Indiana. He remained in that
city for ten years and, in 1874, located at Lafayette, which was destined to be
the scene of his life work. He established a jewelry store at No. 131 North
Fourth street, east of the court house, which in time became one of the land-
marks of the city. In a short time he was recognized as a leader in his line
and by remaining in the same place for thirty-four years built up a good
will that made this property very valuable in a commercial sense. At the
time of his death, which occurred October 4, 1908, the Ankeny store was
probably the oldest in continuity of existence of any similar establishment in
the city.
In 1870 Mr. Ankeny married Caroline Strickland, a lady of great worth
and much natural charm, and a member of one of the most distinguished
families in America. She is a native of Maine and on her mother's side de-
scended from the celebrated James Otis, one of the most famous of the
Revolutionary leaders and a signer of the Declaration of Independence. The
result of this union, which continued in complete harmony and happiness for
thirty-eight years, was an only daughter, now well known in Lafayette society
as Miss Alice H. Ankeny. Mr. Ankeny was a charter member of John A.
Logan Post No. 3, Grand Army of the Republic. He was also prominent
in Masonry as a member of Tippecanoe Lodge. No. 492, Free and Accepted
Masons, and Lafayette Commandery, No. 3, Knights Templar. He belonged
to the Loyal Legion, a military and patriotic organization growing out of
the Civil war, and including in its membership many names made illustrious
by that immortal struggle.
COL. WILLIAM C. WILSON.
One of the prominent and influential citizens of Lafayette, Indiana, was
Col. William C. Wilson, whose honorable career is deserving of recognition
in a history of the province of the one at hand, if for no other reason because
of his distinguished services in defense of the flag on many a sanguinary
battlefield. He was born in Montgomery county, this state, November 22,
X^ 1^, ^^^^^:^-^^^
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 545
1827, the son of John and Margaret (Cochran) Wilson. His grandparents
were natives of Virginia, the Wilson family having settled in that state in a
very early day. One member of the family v^'as a member of congress from
that state in 1824. The family finally left the Old Dominion state and located
in that portion of Lincoln county, now called Gerrard county, Kentucky.
Here the father of John Wilson, the Rev. James Wilson, who for many
years was a noted Presbyterian minister at Staunton, Augusta county, Vir-
ginia, was killed, having been thrown from a horse, leaving a widow with a
large family to support. She was then compelled to give up the farm, and
her son John, father of Colonel Wilson, soon thereafter began working at
blacksmithing, working side by side with slave laborers. He learned to detest
the institution of slavery and became an abolitionist. He left Kentucky for the
West and at Edwardsville, Illinois, he met and formed the acquaintance of
Abraham Lincoln. In 1822 he located in Montgomery county, Indiana, and
soon afterward became employed in the United States land office at Craw-
fordsville. During those pioneer days everything was freighted by trains and
money from the land office was shipped by such methods to the East. It would
be loaded into the wagons at night and left there until morning in order to get
an early start. In 1823 Mr. Wilson was elected the first clerk of that county,
which office he filled continuously and acceptably for a period of fourteen
years. He then engaged in mercantile pursuits and afterwards retired to a
farm where he spent the remainder of his life, enjoying the fruits of his years
of industry. He was a successful business man and everybody admired him
for his many praiseworthy qualities. He died in Crawfordsville, Indiana,
in 1864, his widow surviving until 1884, her death having occurred in La-
fayette.
It will be remembered that John Wilson was one of the commissioners
appointed by the legislature to locate the county seat of Tippecanoe county,
and he also helped lay out the city of Lafayette. He served one term in the
legislature, to which he was elected in 1840, being in politics a Whig. He
was truly a self-made man, having educated himself, and he was one of the
honored pioneers of Indiana.
Colonel Wilson's brother, James Wilson, was United States minister to
Venezuela, who died in South America while in his country's service. Of
this family in Tippecanoe county, there are now one sister. Miss Margaret C.
Wilson, and two brothers, one a former well-known dry goods merchant,
Austin P. Wilson, and George W. Wilson. The last named recently proposed
a new grouping of the stars of the American flag, grouping the forty-eight
stars into one huge star, arranged so as to give them historic significance. .-\
(35)
546 PAST AND PRESENT
design of the new emblem was published in the papers throughout the United
States, having been very favorably commented on, since it tells the history of
the American flag and makes the emblem more beautiful.
One branch of this family descended from Col. William ]McKee. a soldier
in Braddock's army, who fought at the famous battle known as Braddock's
Defeat in 1775. He was captain of a company in the battle of Point Pleas-
ant, Virginia, in 1778, during the Revolutionary war, which was one of the
bloodiest battles with Indians ever fought on this continent. Colonel McKee
had been commissioned by Lord Dunmore and was in command of the fort
at Point Pleasant in 1778.
In the family homestead in Lafayette is a very large and valuable library,
collected chiefly by Colonel Wilson : here also may be seen numerous interest-
ing old heirlooms.
Col. William C. Wilson was reared in Crawfordsville. this state, and
educated in private schools. He also attended ^^'abash College, graduating
from that institution in 1847, '^nd in 1849 he graduated from the law depart-
ment of the University of Indiana. Soon afterwards he was admitted to the
bar at Crawfordsville, both for the circuit and supreme courts. In 1849 li^
was appointed prosecuting attorney for his circuit, and in 1850 he came to
Lafayette and began practicing law with Major Daniel IMace, which partner-
ship continued until the latter was elected to congress in 1852. Mr. Wilson
then practiced alone until 1854, when he formed a partnership with George
Gardner (late judge of the municipal court of Chicago), which alliance con-
tinued until 1859, when Mr. Gardner went to Chicago and Colonel Wilson
was again alone in his practice.
On April 17, 1861. two days after Lincoln's first call for troops to put
down the rebellion. Air. Wilson hastened to volunteer as a private soldier in
the Union army and four days afterward he was mustered into service as
captain of Company D, Tenth Regiment. Indiana Volunteer Infantry, he
having raised the company. While at Indianapolis he was appointed major
of the regiment, which served in West Virginia in the Indiana and Ohio
Brigade, commanded by General Rosecrans. Major Wilson was wounded at
the battle of Rich Mountain. He was mustered out with his regiment in
August, 1861, During the following autumn he recruited the Fortieth Regi-
ment. Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and on September 23d of that year he
became its colonel. This regiment was assigned to the Army of the Cumber-
land under General Thomas. On March 27, 1862, Colonel ^^'ilson resigned
on account of ill health, after a career which was very meritorious in everv
respect. At the time of Morgan's northern raid, it is said that Colonel Wil-
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND.
547
son recruited the One Hundred and Eighth Indiana Regiment in seven hours
and he was its colonel from July 12, 1863, during the term of enlistment for
the purpose of capturing that intrepid southern leader. On May 24, 1864, he
was appointed colonel of the One Hundred and Thirty-fifth Regiment. Indiana
Volunteer Infantry, and was assigned to the Twenty-third Corps of Sherman's
army in the Atlanta campaign, and he was among the detachment sent
back to Nashville in pursuit of Hood. He was honorably mustered out of
service in September, 1864, and he soon afterwards returned to his law prac-
tice in Lafayette. He had three brothers in the Civil war. all officers and brave
soldiers, one of whom had also been in the Mexican war.
In 1853 occurred the marriage of William C. Wilson to Sarah F. Bon-
nell, of Independence, Warren county, Indiana.
In 1866 to 1867 Colonel Wilson was assessor of internal revenue, and
from 1868 to 1869 he was postmaster of Lafayette, filling both oftices in a
manner that reflected credit upon his ability as a public servant. He was also
a very active and valuable member of the city council. He was first a
Whig, but he became a Republican when that party came into power. In 1876
he delivered an address before the Society of the Army of the Cumberland,
of which he was a member, at Philadelphia. The address was received with
high encomiums by the press all over the country. On November 13, 1879,
at the thirteenth annual banquet of the Society of the Army of the Tennessee,
held in Chicago, Colonel Wilson was one of the orators among such dis-
tinguished men as Grant, Logan, Sheridan, Hurlburt and Ingersoll. He was
called on to take the place of General Garfield, responding to the toast, "The
Army of the Cumberland and its Leader, the Rock of Chickamauga." His
speech was such a masterpiece that it was printed in full in the papers through-
out the countr)'. He also made a memorable address at the laying of the
corner-stone of the present court house of Tippecanoe county.
The death of this distinguished man, this able public servant, noted
attorney and popular citizen occurred on September 25, 1891, in Lafayette.
Those who knew him best pronounced him a man of steadfastness in pursuit
of an honorable purpose, possessing untiring industry, with the highest order
of moral and physical courage, a man of intense energy and zeal, all these
praiseworthy characteristics supplemented by a wealth of thrilling eloquence
which often enabled him to win the most difficult cases and hold his hearers
spellbound on any subject. He was patient, forbearing, gentle and loving; as
a commander he was alert, cautious, fearless and his soldiers all put the utmost
confidence in his ability and admired him as a man ; he was generous and kind,
and he discharged his official trusts with fidelity and universal satisfaction.
548 PAST AND PRESENT
In matters pertaining to the welfare of his county, state and nation, Colonel
Wilson was deeply interested, and his efforts in behalf of the general progress
were far-reaching and beneficial. His name is indelibly associated with prog-
ress in this county and among those in whose midst he lived and labored he
was held in the highest esteem by reason of an upright life and of fidelity to
principles which in every land and clime command respect. Now that his
eminently useful career has closed, his influence for good is still alive, and
many young men have been strengthened by contemplating his life and emulat-
ing his worthy example. Truly he was a man of high attainments whose
light has not been extinguished by the transition we call death, but it shines
on with a luster which the future years shall not dim.
CHARLES H. PEIRCE.
It is impossible within the circumscribed limits of this review to give
more than a mere glance at leading facts in the life of one of Tippecanoe
county's most influential and best known men. In the broadest and best
meaning of the term, he is a benefactor in that he has labored for the material
prosperity of this county while advancing his own interests. The noble pur-
poses and high ideals by which his life is directed and controlled renders
Charles H. Peirce deservedly popular with all classes. A native of Lafayette,
Indiana, where his birth occurred April 22, 1857, he has elected to remain
here, believing that this vicinity held greater opportunities for him than re-
mote localities. He is the son of the well-known late Martin L. Peirce, whose
biography appears in full on another page of this work. His mother was
known in her maidenhood as Emma Comstock, a native of Hartford, Con-
necticut, a kindly woman of beautiful Christian character who has lived in
Lafayette for about sixty-five years and is, at this writing, making her home
with her son. Charles H. Peirce.
Mr. Peirce grew to manhood in Lafayette, spending his youth in much
the same manner as other young men contemporaneous with him — attending
the common schools until the opening of Purdue University when he began
a course there, having the distinction of being the first pupil enrolled in the
first class organized in that institution. After leaving the university, where
he made a very commendable record, he became connected with the First
National Bank, with which he remained for a period of about twenty years,
during which time he became familiar with the details of banking and general
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 549
business methods, partly under the training of his father, a financier of more
than ordinary ability. Thus he came to his next position, that with the Kern
Packing Company (now the Lafayette Packing Company), well qualified for
its exacting duties. Remaining with this firm for one year, he went to Indian-
apolis where he engaged in the ice business for a period of three and one-half
years, returning to Lafayette in January, 1909, when he became connected
with the Lafayette Fuel and Builders' Supply Company, of which he is, at
this writing, secretary and treasurer; under his judicious management this
firm is doing an extensive business.
On December 9, 1879, was solemnized the marriage of Charles H. Peirce
with Hattie M. Brown, a native of Lafayette and the daughter of Mr. and
Mrs. L. W. Brown, an old and well-established family here. Mr. and Mrs.
Brown, however, are now residing in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. Mrs. Peirce
is a woman of culture, refinement and affability and she presides over the
beautiful Peirce home with a grace that causes the large coterie of friends
of the family to delight to gather there, always finding a hospitable and cheer-
ful welcome. This union has been blessed by the birth of one son, Martin
L. Peirce, whose talents seem to run along journalistic lines, he, at present.
being the telegraph editor of the Lafayette Courier.
Something of Mr. Peirce's innate business qualities is shown by the fol-
lowing incident. When about twelve years of age he won a prize of one
hundred dollars, offered by his father, for a certain accomplishment. When
asked what he intended doing with it he replied : "Put it in the savings bank
to the credit of Mrs. Charles H. Peirce." And he did so, leaving it until
he was married, when his bride received it as a wedding present. It had then
fully doubled by compounding the interest. She still leaves it in the bank,
untouched.
Religiously, Mr. and Mrs. Peirce belong to the First Baptist church, of
Lafayette, being interested in the various lines of charitable and missionary
work under its auspices. They are pleasant people to know, avoid publicity
and sham in all its forms, plain, straightforward and kindly, thus easily
making and retaining friends.
JOSEPH BLISTAIN.
Among the men of influence in Tippecanoe county, who have the inter-
est of their locality at heart and who have led consistent lives, thereby gaining
definite success along their chosen lines, is Joseph Blistain, one of the pro-
550 PAST AND PRESENT
gressive business men of the city of Lafayette where he figures prominently
not only in commercial circles but also in the civic and social life. He was
born August 13, 1854. at Wheeling, West Virginia, the son of Anthony and
Catherine (Hauck) Blistain. He lived in Wheeling about one year, when his
parents moved to Cincinnati where they lived about seven years, then moved to
Chillicothe, Ohio, where Joseph remained until 1875, attending the public
schools and preparing himself for his subsequent business career. In 1872
he took a position in the wholesale and retail dry goods and notion store of
Joseph Stewart, of Chillicothe, Ross county, Ohio, where he made rapid ad-
vancement, so that after his second year there he was sent out as a traveling
salesman, selling goods by sample, alternating his trips with clerking in the
store, continuing thus until about 1875, when he severed his connection with
this firm and became traveling salesman for William H. Scheer & Company,
wholesale dealers in hats, caps, furs and gloves at Cincinnati, which position
he held with credit and entire satisfaction, giving to it his best talents until
1878. Then he took a position with Jorling & Kolling, who had been mem-
bers of the firm of \Y. H. Scheer & Company, but withdrew in 1878 and
embarked in the same business for themselves, Mr. Blistain acting as their
bookkeeper and traveling salesman. In 1880 the firm, then known as H.
Jorling & Company, admitted Mr. Blistain as a partner, and after six years
of very successful business the latter disposed of his interest and came to
Lafayette, Indiana, and became connected with the Newman & Bohrer Brew-
ery. After the death of Mr. Newman in 1889. the firm became the George A.
Bohrer Brewing Company and was incorporated with an authorized capital
stock of one hundred thousand dollars and Mr. Blistain became treasurer of
the company, which responsible position he still holds, discharging the duties
of the same in a manner that stamps him as a man of unusual business acumen,
foresight and soundness of judgment. This firm enjoys a very liberal patron-
age, shipping large consignments of goods to Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, covering
these states thoroughly, to say nothing of the phenomenal trade over Indiana.
When Mr. Blistain became a member of this firm its prestige was not so
very extensive, but by frugal industry it has increased to an annual capacity
of twenty thousand barrels. The building frontage is about two hundred
and fifty feet, running back to the alley one hundred and twenty feet, and
the buildings are all of brick, three and five stories high, fully equipped with
the latest improved machinery and most modern appliances of every type to
insure the best possible results. Everything is under an excellent system
and the plant is a model of its kind in every respect.
Anthony and Catherine (Hauck) Blistain. parents of Joseph, were both
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 55 1
born in Germany, the father near Duesseldorf. He emigrated to America in
the forties, first located in Philadelphia, but later he went to Cincinnati where
he worked as brewmaster for a period of seven years. He then bought an
interest in a brewery at Wheeling, West Virginia, afterwards returning to
Cincinnati where he acted as brewmaster again. In 1859 he purchased a
brewery in Chillicothe, Ohio, which he conducted in such a manner as to gain
an ample competency, being able to retire from active life in 1871. His
death occurred on July 4, 1880. Catherine Hauck was born in Bavaria and
came to America some two years after Anthony Blistain arrived ; her death
occurred in 1875.
June 30, 1880. Joseph Blistain was united in marriage with Amelia M.
Bohrer, daughter of George A. Bohrer, president of the brewing company
described in a preceding paragraph. He was born in Bavaria, December i,
1819, and married Caroline Newman, a native of north Germany, born March
15, 1827. Their wedding, however, took place in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1849,
in which city they lived for twenty-two years. The parents of each of these
parties came to America in an early day. George A. Bohrer landed in New
Orleans and came by boat up the Mississippi river to Cincinnati; he was
eleven years of age and was accompanied by his older brother. Being of an
industrious turn of mind, he first learned the trade of shoemaker, and later
worked in the grocery business, also at undertaking and the livery business
in Cincinnati. He came to Lafayette, Indiana, in 1872, and began in the
brewery business, finally buying out the interest of a Mr. Herbert of the firm
of Newman & Herbert Brewing Company.
To Mr. and Mrs. George A. Bohrer eight children were born, five sons.
and three daughters — all born in Cincinnati. Four of the number are now
living. The children in order of birth are : George H., Mrs. John W. Flete-
meyer, Charles J.. Edward F., Albert F., deceased; Mrs. Joseph Blistain,
deceased; Mrs. Louisa Spring, deceased; William, deceased. The death of
Mrs. Joseph Blistain occurred on Christmas day. 1889. She was a fond
mother and an excellent woman, whom everybody admired for her congenial-
ity and kindness. To Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Blistain four children were born,,
of whom one died in childhood ; the three living are : Erna, wife of Alvin
Bodemer. of Cincinnati, where Mr. Bodemer is engaged in the manufacture of
paper bags, and the wholesale paper business, a member of the firm of Diem
& Wing Paper Company. William Blistain is bookkeeper in the brewery of
which his father is treasurer. George A. Blistain, the youngest son, graduated
from Purdue University in 1909, having completed the course in mechanical,
engineering.
552 PAST AND PRESENT
Mr. Blistain is a member of the United Ancient Order of Druids, Wal-
halla Grove, No. 12, and Lafayette Lodge, No. 143, Benevolent and Pro-
tective Order of Elks. He is a Republican and served one term as a member
of the city council, elected 1902.
Personally, Mr. Blistain is a man of pleasing address, always kind, cour-
teous, obliging, yet straightforward, tactful, business-like, and a man in whom
the utmost confidence may be reposed, according to those who know him best,
for his character is exemplary and he holds high rank in both business and
social circles of Lafayette.
SENATOR WILLLAM R. WOOD.
In touching upon the life history of Senator William R. Wood, there is
no desire to employ fulsome encomium and extravagant praise; yet the
biographer will endeavor to hold up for consideration those facts which show
the distinction of a useful and honorable life. To do this will be but to reiter-
ate the dictum pronounced upon the man by those who have known him long
and well. To have served his fellow-citizens in one office for a longer period
than any other man has done in the history of the state, and to have been
retained in that office by the votes of the people who best know him, is indeed
a distinction of which any man would have just reason to be proud. To have
practiced his profession in one community for more than a quarter of a cen-
tury and during these years to have grown constantly in the esteem of his
professional brethren and in the respect of the people generally, is irrefutable
evidence of the ability and sterling worth of the man. In these respects, as
well as in all other lines of activity in which Senator Wood has been inter-
ested, he has exhibited qualities which have given him an enviable standing in
the community.
Senator William R. Wood is a Hoosier by nativity, having been born
in Oxford, Benton county, Indiana, January 5, 1861. He is a son of Robert
and Matilda (Hickman) Wood, the former for many years a well-known
and honored citizen of Oxford where he successfully conducted a harness
business. Their son, William R.. spent his boyhood days much like other
boys of his time, working on the farm during the summer months and attend-
ing the common schools in the winter time. When fourteen years of age he
decided to follow in the footsteps of his father and began learning the harness-
maker's trade in the latter's shop. This, however, soon proved to be not in
line with the yearnings of his heart, and all his spare time was devoted to
" V -> ^^ i^-ai^-,^ ^^^^ A/^
^g^
^^^^^^
TU'PECANOE COUNTY, IND. 553
Study and preparation for a professional career. He was an indefatigable
reader and thoughtful student, and before he had attained his majority he
was enrolled in the law department of the University of Michigan, from
which he was graduated in 1882, having made a splendid record for scholar-
ship in that institution.
Immediately upon his graduation, William R. Wood came to Lafayette,
Indiana, and entered upon the practice of his profession. He was first asso-
ciated with Capt. De\\'itt C. Wallace, but this partnership was dissolved within
two years, and Mr. Wood then entered into a professional alliance with
Capt. William H. Bryan, and this relation was maintained until 1890, when
the former was elected prosecuting attorney of the twenty-third judicial circuit
as the candidate of the Republican party. His performance of the duties of
the office was marked by efificiency of a high order, and at the close of his
first term he was again elected, serving two full terms. In 1894 the subject
was a candidate for the nomination for congressman in the Republican nomi-
nating convention and several times during the progress of the ballots he
came within five votes of the nomination. Eighty-seven ballots were taken,
the nomination finally going to J. Frank Hanly. It was largely through the
action of Senator Wood in throwing the votes of some of his supporters to
Mr. Hanly that the latter was nominated.
After Mr. Hanly's return from congress, he and Senator Wood formed
a law partnership, the combination proving to be one of unusual strength,
the firm soon taking place in the front rank of the Tippecanoe county bar.
This professional association was maintained seven years, or until 1904, when
Mr. Hanly was elected governor of Indiana and removed to Indianapolis,
since which time Senator \\'ood has been alone in the practice.
It was in 1896 that the Republican party selected William R. Wood for
state senator, and at the ensuing election he received a handsome majority
of votes, and he entered at once into his legislative duties with an earnest-
ness and zeal that commended him to the voters of his district. He was not
in any sense a "grand-stand player," but he accomplished things, and this
habit of doing things has stuck to him all through his public and professional
life. So strongly did he impress his constituents that they have returned
him to the state senate at each subsequent election, so that at the expiration
of his present term he will have served fourteen consecutive years as senator.
This is a record that has never been equaled in that body in the history of the
state and is certainly a marked testimonial to the character of the man. Dur-
ing this period Senator Wood has twice served as president pro tem. of the
senate. Among the many successful measures introduced and championed by
554 PAST AND PRESENT
him in the state senate was the bill for the appropriation and erection of
the handsome monument on the Tippecanoe battlefield.
Senator \\'ood enjoys a large and lucrative law practice, being one of
the leading members of the Tippecanoe county bar, and he has been engaged
in many of the most important cases which have been tried here. In dis-
cussions of the principles of law, he is noted for clearness of statement and
candor and his zeal for a client never leads him to urge an argument which,
in his judgment, is not in harmony with the law, and in all the important liti-
gation with which he has been connected no one has ever charged him with
anything calculated to bring discredit upon himself or cast a reflection upon
his profession. As an effective and forceful speaker. Senator Wood's remarks
always demand attention, whether he is in the legislative hall or the court
room. He has prospered by reason of his close application to business, and
aside from his professional duties he has a number of interests that claim his
attention, being a director in the City National Bank, also a director of the
Tippecanoe Land and Trust Company, being the attorney for each, and he is
one of the principal stockholders in the American National Bank ; he is also
interested in the Tippecanoe Securities Company, being the general attorney
for the same; this is one of the largest insurance agency companies in the
state. He is a director and stockholder in the Lafayette Telephone Company;
also the Kern Packing Company and is its attorney.
In 1883 Senator Wood was united in marriage with Mary Elizabeth
Geiger, of Lafayette, the daughter of Frederick and Rachael (McCombs)
Geiger. Frederick Geiger was the pioneer miller of Lafayette, having oper-
ated the old Star City Flouring Mill, the products of which were shipped
principally to Toledo, Ohio, and other eastern points by canal. Mrs. Geiger
was one of the first white children born in Tippecanoe county, and during
her life she witnessed the erection of three court houses in Lafayette, the first
one having been built of logs.
Senator Wood takes an abiding interest in fraternal affairs. He is a
member of the Masonic order, in which he has taken the degrees up to and
including those of Knight Templar, holding the latter relation in Lafayette
Commandery, and he is also a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order
of Elks. The Senator possesses a genial disposition and makes friends easily.
He enjoys probably the widest acquaintance among the voters of the county
of any of our public men, and he is highly esteemed by all who know him,
regardless of political or other distinctions. Senator Wood's family on both
sides are Methodi.sts in their church relations.
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 555
JOB HAIGH VAN NATTA.
It is a pleasing as well as an interesting task to place on record the
career of a man who has been so long and so actively identified with the
development and progress of Tippecanoe county as the distinguished citizen
whose name introduces this article, and who holds worthy prestige among
■those to whom this highly famed section of Indiana is so greatly indebted for
its advancement and prosperity.
Job Haigh Van Natta is not only widely known and universally esteemed,
but ever since becoming an inHuential factor in civic matters his name has
passed current for all that is upright and honorable and he stands today a
conspicuous figure in a community long distinguished for the ability, moral
worth and successful achievements of its representative men of affairs. A
native of Indiana, he was born January 27, 1833, in Tippecanoe county, being
a son of John S. and Sarah A. (Haigh) Van Natta, who were among the
early settlers near the village of Otterbein and who also ranked high as intel-
ligent, enterprising and influential members of the community which they
helped establish.
The Van Nattas moved to Indiana from Ohio, but originally lived in
New Jersey where, in 1801, John S. Van Natta was born. His father
was Gilbert Van Natta, who was born in 1772 and who married in his
young manhood a Miss Senteny and who, for a number of years thereafter,
resided near the city of Trenton, New Jersey, where he followed the vocation
of farming. When their son was quite small, his parents moved to Mays-
ville, Kentucky, where the lad spent his boyhood, and later they changed
their residence to Ohio where, in due time, John Senteny Van Natta united
in marriage with Mrs. Sarah A. Wilson, whose first husband had died a few
years previously, leaving her with three children to support. It is worthy
of note that all these children grew up to be honorable men and women and
dignified their respective stations in life. One of them, Hon. John T. Wilson,
a man of high standing and widely known in political circles, represented
one of the Ohio districts in congress, and also endowed in Adams county,
where he lived, a home for those whom age and infirmity rendered incapable
of caring for themselves ; Spencer Wilson, another son, became an extensive
landowner in Iowa, and a very wealthy man, while a third, a daughter, mar-
ried Walter Moore and lived for a number of years in Shelby township. Tip-
pecanoe county, where she reared a large family.
The maiden name of Mrs. Wilson was Sarah A. Haigh ; she was born
556 PAST AND PRESENT
in England and when six years old came to America with her parents, her
father being Job Haigh, an expert cabinetmaker, who was employed for
some time on the construction of the capitol building in the city of Washing-
ton. The marriage of John Senteny Van Natta and Sarah A. Wilson, which
took place about the year 1820, resulted in three children, Aaron, Rachel and
Maria, all torn while the parents lived in Ohio. In 1829, the family moved
overland in a four-horse wagon to Indiana, and settled in Shelby township,
Tippecanoe county, where Mr. Van Natta entered two hundred acres of public
land, to which he added from time to time until he finally became the possessor
of about four hundred acres, the greater part of which he cleared, reduced
to cultivation and converted into a fine farm. Three sons, William S., Job
H. and James G., were born after the family settled in Tippecanoe county
and their early lives were closely interwoven with the community in which
they first saw the light of day.
Maria J., the third daughter, first became the wife of John Bigger and
later married John W. Fisher, a prosperous farmer near Battle Ground, where
she still resides, having reached the advanced age of eighty-two years, and
retaining to a marked degree the possession of her bodily and mental powers.
Another daughter, Rachel, died at the age of twenty years. William S. Van
Natta. who lives at Fowler, is an extensive landowner, an enterprising and
wealthy farmer and the head of a large family, all of his children being
well-to-do and highly esteemed in their respective places of residence.
Job H. Van Natta. who has spent his entire life of seventy-six years
near the place of his birth, is perhaps the oldest native citizen of Tippecanoe
county at the present time. He was reared to agricultural pursuits on the
family homestead near Otterbein, grew to the full stature of rugged, well-
rounded manhood with a proper conception of life and its responsibilities and
on attaining his majority purchased a quarter section of land northeast of
Otterbein, which he fenced and broke and in due time had the greater part
in a successful state of cultivation. There being no sawmills in the locality
at that time he was obliged to go to Crawfordsville for the lumber with
which to enclose the part of his land intended for tillage. The dealer giving
him choice between walnut and poplar at the same price he chose the latter
because of its being lighter and more easily hauled, thus saving at least one
trip over the long and illy constructed roads, but little realizing the loss he
.sustained in the transaction.
By dint of hard lalx)r and continuous toil Mr. Van Natta finally suc-
ceeded in reclaiming the greater part of his land and making one of the
l->est farms and one of the most l>eautiful and desirable rural homes in the
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 557
county. No sooner had he gotten his affairs in a condition to live easily
and enjoy the fruits of his struggles and toil than the national horizon became
overcast by the ominous clouds of impending civil war. A lover of country
and loyal in all the term implies, he made ready to take part in the conflict
as soon as it should be precipitated. When the clouds finally burst and the
stern call came he was among the first men in Tippecanoe county to tender
his services to the government, enlisting in September, 1861, in the Tenth
Regiment Indiana A^olunteer Infantry, and being elected first lieutenant upon
the organization of Company D, to which he belonged. Mr. Van Natta
was not long in proceeding to the front and during the years which followed
he rendered faithful and efficient service in some of the most noted campaigns
and many of the bloodiest battles of the war, sharing with his comrades all
the vicissitudes in which his command took part, and proving under all cir-
cumstances a brave and gallant soldier who shrank from no danger nor hesi-
tated to go wherever duty called. Among the first battles in which he was
engaged was Mill Springs, Kentucky, where a musket ball passed through his
cap ; from there he returned with the army to Louisville preparatory to moving
against the enemy farther south. Taking boats at that city, the force pro-
ceeded to Nashville, Tennessee, thence marched to Pittsburg Landing in
time to participate in the second day's battle, with Buell's command. For
brave and meritorious conduct on that bloody field, Mr. Van Natta was
promoted captain March 20, 1862, in which capacity he led his men against
the enemy at Corinth, where he distinguished himself at the head of six com-
panies, four infantry and two of cavalry, and added to his already well-estab-
lished reputation as an intrepid though careful and judicious officer. For his
conduct in the latter action he was highly praised by his brigade commander,
General Steadman, and, for duty ably and gallantly performed, he was made
major of the regiment November 18, 1862, which position he held until
commissioned lieutenant-colonel September 21, 1863, by Governor Morton,
for especially brilliant service at the battle of Chickamauga.
From Corinth the Federal forces marched to Tuscumbia, Alal)ama. but
being threatened in the rear by General Bragg they returned to Louisville,
thence proceeded to Perryville in time to take part in the sanguinary engage-
ment near that place. From Perryville. the march was continued to Lafayette,
Georgia, with a number of skirmishes and se\-eral battles on the way, but
the movement of Longstreet, whose aim was to move his corps from the
Potomac so as to form a junction with the western army under the command
of Bragg, caused the Federals tn he hurried by a fnrced march ti> Chicka-
mauga. .\rriving at the latter place Colonel Croxton. who commanded the
558 PAST AND PRESENT
brigade, ordered Major Van Natta to take command of the skirmish line and
bring on an engagement, which was done in due order. At first it was thought
the enemy had but a small force on the opposite side of the river, with a bridge
burned liehind them, but as Major Van Natta developed their true position
it was learned, much to the chagrin of the Union troops, that what was
supposed to be a small force was the entire Confederate army in readiness
for battle.
The battle of Chickamauga, one of the hardest and bloodiest of the war,
need not here be described. Suffice it to state, however, that the regiment
to which Major Van Natta belonged displayed the most gallant and determined
courage on that awful day, and of his former company fully one-half were
killed and wounded, other commands suffering in like manner. The Major
and his gallant men performed prodigies of valor against overwhelming odds,
and in the leading of a forlorn hope he displayed a brilliancy of leadership
and at the same time a wise discretion that, as already indicated, led to
his being commissioned lieutenant-colonel of the regiment by the war governor
of Indiana, a short time after the battle was fought. The retreat from the
field of Chickamauga to Chattanooga, where the Federals took a position with
the river behind them on the west, with Lookout mountain rising from the
river on the south, a gap of one mile from the mountain to Missionary Ridge,
which stretched around the troops north, then northwest to the river ; on the
mountain and the ridge the Confederate forces in battle array awaited the
onset, but the capture of the mountains by strategy and the resistless charge
to and up over the ridge, during which thousands of brave men fell a sacri-
fice to the awful moloch of war, the precipitate retreat of the Confederates,
the shouts of victory by the elated hosts of the North — all have been told and
retold until the history of that terrible struggle has become as familiar as
a household tale.
In (leneral Thomas' command, fighting with his wounded arm in a sling.
Major Van Natta stood for some time facing Missionarv Ridge and when
the center charged without orders he was among the first to ascend the
declivity, in the face of a murderous fire, and to him belongs no little of the
credit of inspiring his men in a situation which has no parallel in the annals of
warfare. After the capture of Missionary Ridge." the Major marched with
Sherman through Georgia to Atlanta and participated in several sanguinary
battles which led to the reduction of that noted stronghold, including among
others those of Peachtree Creek, Buzzard Roost, and Resaca ; in fact, he was
under almost continuous fire until the city fell and Georgia ixissed from Con-
federate to Federal control. At the expiration of his term of service he was
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 559
discharged September 19, 1864. witli an honorable record, one of which any
bra\e defender of his country might well feel proud, and returning home he
resumed the peaceful pursuits of civil life at Lafayette, with the material
interests of which prosperous city he has since been largely identified.
For about twenty years Mr. Van Natta was associated with his brother
in the cattle business at Lafayette, buying and shipping to the leading eastern
markets, and consigning every week from twenty to thirty car loads and
frequently handling considerably in excess of those figures. The enterprise
proved successful beyond their most ardent expectations and on retiring from
business they each possessed a fortune of sufficient magnitude to make them
independent and earn for them prominent positions among the financially
strong and reliable men of Lafayette and the county of Tippecanoe.
Mr. Van Natta has large and valuable tracts of land in the county
besides real estate in the city of his residence and elsewhere, owning eight
hundred acres of fine land north of Battle Ground, the greater part under
cultivation and otherwise highly improved. He also has six hundred acres
near Otterbein and seven hundred acres in LaGrange county, all very valu-
able, and in addition to these interests he is a stockholder and director of the
Merchants" National Bank of Lafayette, owns stock in the Lafayette Loan
and Trust Company, of which he is also a director, besides holding large
interests in the Lafayette Savings Bank, of which he is a trustee, and the
First National Bank of Boswell and the State Bank of Otterbein, being presi-
dent of the last two institutions.
Mr. Van Natta has always kept pace with the times not only in business
matters but in public affairs, and a number of enterprises which have made
for the material progress and general welfare of Lafa\-ette and Tippecanoe
county have profited by his counsel and advice. For many years he has been
a trustee of Purdue University and, like all public-spirited men of the city,
he has never permitted his interest in this splendid institution to wane nor
been lacking in his duty to other means for the intellectual advancement of the
community honored by his citizenship. His heart and hand have been seen
and felt in nearly every institution and movement that has for its purpose
the benefit and uplift of his fellowmen, and his friendships, always constant,
zealous and reliable, have given him an influence such as few exercise.
^Ir. Van Natta, on October 10, 1866, contracted a marriage with Harriet
Barnes, daughter of Samuel Barnes (see sketch of Thomas J. Barnes), which
union has been blessed with six children, viz. : Blanche, wife of Augustus
Ruffner, of Chicago, and the mother of a son named Henr)- Van Natta
Ruffner; J. Lynn Van Natta, present treasurer of Tippecanoe county: Samuel
560 PAST AND PRESENT
Gilbert, a wealthy cattleman of Texas ; Louise, now Mrs. George E. Baldwin,
of Seattle, Washington; John W., who is interested with his brother in Texas,
and Nancy, who is a member of the home circle. Mr. Van Natta is above
the average height, tall and of gentlemanly bearing, courteous in his relations
with his fellowmen and generous and kind to all. His tastes are largely
domestic and he finds his keenest enjoyment in his home and with his family
in whom he manifests a pardonable and well-deserved pride.
ZEBULOX BAIRD.
Zebulon Baird was of Scotch descent, born in New Jersey and reared
and educated in Ohio; but forty years of his manhood, with their record of
honorable achievement, belong to Indiana. His great-grandfather, John
Baird, was the Scottish ancestor who came to America in 1683 and, although
a lad under the age of twenty, purchased a goodly tract of land at Marlboro,
Monmouth county. New Jersey, and proceeded to erect a homestead. This
quaint old house is still standing — an interesting structure of the early colonial
type. John Baird married, and his descendants were men of large landed inter-
ests and social consequence.
The second generation of American Bairds became connected with
another of New Jersey's substantial families — one of political prominence in
colonial times — by the marriage of James Baird and Deliverance Bowne.
These were the parents of the subject, who thus drew directly from two
family founts of ability and virtue. Zebulon Baird, one of six children, was
born December 21, 181 7. Soon after his birth, his parents left their New
Jersey home and settled upon a farm in Warren county, Ohio. Here Zebulon
grew and studied. His schoolhouse was a log cabin, but his instructor was a
man of practical attainments and classical culture, and, like the Bairds, a
stanch Scotch Presbyterian. Zebulon was early ready for collegiate work,
ami duly entered Miami University, of which Robert H. Bishop was then
president. His college course completed, he liegan the study of law under
Governor Thomas Corwin at Lebanon, and in the spring of 1838 he was
admitted to the bar of Ohio; a few months later he began practice at Lafay-
ette. Indiana, in partnership with Judge Ingram, a veteran in the legal field.
Mr. Baird was markedly of the student type. To absorb and systematize truth
for practical use was with him a natural mental function. His classical
knowledge was the wonder, admiration and reference fund of his associates.
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 56I
He loved his profession for itself, without regard to the financial rewards
of success or political prestige. Yet, still more did he love his country and
the cause of liberty, and when the Civil war came on he entered service as
captain under General Milroy. During his army experience he met with an
adventure which promised to be more serious than it proved. It was at the
second battle of Bull Run. Unknown to him, the Union forces had beaten a
retreat, he being engaged at the time in carrying orders. Unconscious of
his peril, he rode into the picket lines of the enemy where he was quickly
captured, and he subsequently was made an inmate of that historic horror,
Libby Prison. Unlike the fate of so many of his fellow-victims, he was soon
released, on exchange, and the sequel to this prison episode wears a tinge of
less gloomy romance. He had at that time a case pending in the United
States supreme court, and as the city of Washington lay in the line of his
journey from Libby Prison to his new post of duty to which he was assigned,
he took advantage of this opportunity to plead his cause. He addressed the
court in his officer's uniform, and the interest awakened by the novel appear-
ance of the military advocate was deepened into profound attention by the
force of his oratory. At the conclusion of his plea, he was the recipient of
much gratulation, and one of the justices was led facetiously to wonder what
might not be expected of generals when captains could argue so well. The
rigors of military life told severely upon the slender constitution of Captain
Baird, and a short time before the declaration of peace he was obliged to
resign his commission. Returning home, he devoted himself to professional
work and in the few remaining years of his life he earned a reputation in
Indiana as one of the ablest and most thoroughly equipped lawyers of its bar.
His intellectual talents were of the highest order, yet he did not rely upon
those talents for his success, as so many similarly gifted would have done.
His early mental discipline had been most excellent, and throughout his
professional career he was a close and conscientious student of his cases. The
philosophy of law was his delight, and in the consideration of legal proposi-
tions he dwelt upon principles rather than precedents, but he never neglected
to inform himself on the law of his cases, and if precedent became imperative,,
he was always prepared to apply it with his characteristic skill. His thorough
acquaintance with fundamental principles and his acute analytical power made
him quick to detect a weakness or fallacy in an argument, and he was a
formidable antagonist; yet his self-control was superb and his courtesy to
adversaries, as well as to court and jury, unvarying. He was a man of pure
and lofty ideals, to which he was never for a moment oblivious. Joseph E.
McDonald, formerly United States senator from Indiana, read law in the
(36)
562 PAST AND PRESENT
office of Mr. Baird, and the success which he later won, both as an attorney
and pohtician, he attributed to the splendid training he had received from his
legal patron, whom he declared to be one of the ablest lawyers ever produced
by the state of Indiana. Nor was he unsupported by the profession in his
high estimate of Mr. Baird. In "Sketches of the Old Indiana Supreme Court
Bar," by Gen. John Coburn, Zebulon Baird is accredited with his many super-
ior abilities, which are finally epitomized in these words: "He was well
matched with the best lawyers on the Wabash, and in any English-speaking
court would have ranked among the highest." In person, Mr. Baird was a
type almost feminine in its delicacy. His features were fine and clearly cut ;
his blue eyes mild ; his pale face vitalized with thought. He was one of those
rare personalities from which all grosser elements seem refined away, until
the intellectual and spiritual being stands out in bold relief. The contempla-
tion of such men, frail in physique, yet pronounced in character and sensibility,
is reassuring to religious faith, making easier the conception of a future state
in which the individuality shall appear unchanged, only more clearly and
purely defined in its freedom from the mortal clod.
Mr. Baird was married on January 22, 1839, to Martha M. Probasco,
whose father was the late Rev. John Probasco, of Lebanon, Ohio. Five chil-
dren were born of this union. Mr. Baird died January 29, 1877. and his
widow on the 22d of June. 1898.
LEE HARRY MORGAN.
Among the younger coterie of business men of Lafayette and one who is
rapidly pushing his way to the front by means of fidelity to his chosen work
and by a determined energy that knows no flagging until whatever task he has
in hand is finished, is Lee H. Morgan, the scion of as worthy ancestors as any-
one can claim. He was bom in Farmington, Fulton county, Illinois, May 25,
1870, the son of George W. and Martha E. (Warner) Morgan. When Lee
was five years old the family moved to Sidney, Champaign county, Illinois,
where they remained for eight years, then moved to Salem, Illinois, the former
home of William Jennings Br\-an, Mr. Bryan having been a schoolmate of
Mrs. George W. Morgan. After three years spent at Salem, the Morgan
family moved to Champaign. Illinois. At this place Lee H. left school, having
secured a fairly good text-book training, for the purpose of entering the
grocery business, in which he remained for two years. Then he, together
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 563
with his father and brother, started a mattress factory at Champaign, which
they successfully conducted for three years, when the family moved to Lafay-
ette, Indiana. This was in 1900. Lee H. and his brother William F. started
a mattress factory and carpet cleaning business soon after they came to Lafay-
ette on South Sixteenth street, for which they were well equipped, consequently
were able to do first-class work. Their carpet cleaning is done in a large
cylinder, fifteen feet in diameter, which revolves slowly; it is made of slats,
and is so constructed that the carpet will roll and fall from top to bottom, thus
beating it mechanically, airing it and removing the dirt. All the machinery
is iip-to-date and the very best work is turned out here quickly and at reason-
able prices. The name of the firm was Morgan & Morgan after they came
here. After operating their original business for about a year they added
furniture upholstering and repairing. In 1905 William F. withdrew from the
business and Lee H. Morgan still continues the business under his own name.
He not only makes new upholstered furniture, but refinishes antique furniture
of the highest quality. When this business was first started by the Morgan
brothers in Lafayette they occupied a room only twenty -two by fifty feet.
About three years later they erected a large addition, which they again en-
larged in 1906, the business having grown until this became a necessity. Two
floors are now required, thirty-three by ninety-six feet throughout. A number
of employes are kept busy turning out the work, the business now covering a
wide territory and constantly growing.
Lee H. Morgan was married, June 30, 1903, to Rosa Fluck, of Cham-
paign, Illinois, a very affable woman, the representative of an excellent family.
In his fraternal relations, Mr. Morgan is a member of the Knights of
Pythias lodge; he also belongs to Trinity Methodist Episcopal church. In
1905 he erected a new dwelling just south of the factory, which is modern, con-
venient and attractive. He is a hard worker, plans well and has succeeded.
He always takes a summer vacation on the northern lakes where he regales
himself hunting and fishing, being something of a sportsman. He likes good
horses and does considerable driving. He is obliging and friendly and a man
who makes and retains friends easily.
WILLIAM MONHOLAN JACKSON.
He whose career is now taken under consideration and to whom the
reader's attention is respectfully directed, is numbered among the progressive
citizens of Lafayette and one of the representative men of Tippecanoe county,
564 P-'^ST AND PRESENT
of which he has been a resident all his life, having been born here, and he has
gained prosperity through his own honest efforts in connection with the de-
velopment of the natural resources and the subsequent business prosperity.
William M. Jackson first saw the light of day near Quaker Grove, this county,
not far from the Montgomery county line, January 23,. 1869, the son of James
M. and Elizabeth R. (Campbell) Jackson, the parents having come to Tippe-
canoe county in 1865 from Gallia county, Ohio. Their son, William M.,
grew up on the home farm, which he worked and attended the district schools
in the meantime. He remained on the farm until he was twenty-three years
old, although his parents moved to Lafayette when he was eighteen, William
M. desiring to farm with his brother-in-law. Farming, however, soon lost
its charm for him and in 1892 and 1893 he went into the grocery business
in Lafayette. Later he conducted a retail feed store for two years. Then
he worked one year for the Western Construction Company on street con-
tracts. In 1900 he began cement contracting for himself, starting in a small
way with very limited capital, but a good credit. He made bids for city
work and got contracts thereby. He began building sidewalks, then street
construction and sewers and bridges, making a success in all and gradually
extending his business until he had a large force of men employed and was
constantly engaged on some large and important work. In 1907 he built
South Eighteenth street from Kossuth street to the city limits. In 1906 the
Lafayette Fuel and Builders' Supply Company was organized with a capital
stock of ten thousand dollars, and Mr. Jackson was elected president of the
same, which position he still holds, managing the affairs of the company in a
manner as to insure abundant success and to stamp him as a business man of
no mean ability and sagacity. In 1903 Mr. Jackson put down cement side-
walks and curb and gutters from Main street bridge to Purdue University.
In that year he erected his commodious, modern and beautiful home on East
Kossuth street where he now resides. He works now principally on private
construction work, having become one of the most popular contractors in the
county, owing to the fact that he guarantees all his work and is quick to
make good any defect. He does not go into debt except as an investment, and
he always meets his obligations promptly. He believes that hard work and
good management will always win, and this has been the secret of his large
success. He deserves a great deal of credit for what he has done, but he is
unpretentious, plain, kind and generous.
Mr. Jackson was married July 19. 1899. to Nellie G. Baker, of Lafayette.
and to this union two sons have been born, namelv : Earl Linden and Law-
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 565
rence M. The Jackson household is a mutually happy and hospitable one,
popular among a wide circle of friends.
In politics, Mr. Jackson is a Republican and is a member of the town-
ship advisory board. In 1906 he was nominated by his party for township
trustee, but by reason of unusual circumstances, he was defeated after a very
spirited contest. In his fraternal relations he is a member of Lafayette Lodge,
No. 123, Free and Accepted Masons, the Knights of Pythias, the Improved
Order of Red Men and the Woodmen of the World.
FREDERICK DORNER.
The German element in America's national life has contributed much to
the country's material prosperity, being felt as a potential force along in-
dustrial, commercial and agricultural lines, to say nothing of the important
place it occupies in the arts and sciences and its influence in the military, edu-
cational and religious circles, as well as in the domain of politics. A fine
representative of this nationality is found in Frederick Dorner, whose name is
known nationally, having built up a lucrative and extensive business in the
pleasant science of floriculture in which he seems to have much more than
ordinary ability, both natural and cultivated, as we shall see by a perusal of the
following paragraphs. r"21'^^-^
Mr. Dorner's birth occurred in Baden, Germany, November 29, 1837,
the son of Frederick and Christine Dorner, who are remembered as honest
and industrious people, of the better class of Germans. When eighteen years
of age, Frederick decided that the great republic across the sea held greater
possibilities for a lad of his temperament than his home land, consequently
he set sail for the United States, coming directly to Lafayette, Indiana, where
a brother, Philip, had previously settled. Since his arrival here in 1855 Fred-
erick Dorner has noted many extensive changes and played well his part in
the subsequent business expansion. Very early in life he was a lover of
nature, having something of the poetic temperament in that he loved flowers,
herbs, shrubs, etc., liked to see them grow and to cultivate them, but, unlike
the poet, he also saw the great commercial side of this prodigal beauty of
plant life and sought to turn it into account, with the result that he began
working for the florist Lloyd, with whom he remained for a time, then
worked at other things until he had a start.
On March 2, 1861, Mr. Dorner chose a life partner in the person of
Marguerita Eihl, daughter of Lawrence Eihl, of Lafayette. Her father after-
566 PAST AND PRESENT
wards bought and operated the Peters mill on ^^'ild Cat creek. The Eihl
family is an old and highly respected one.
After following farming for a time, Mr. Dorner, in 1865, went to Wis-
consin where he followed farming until 1870, in which year he returned to
Lafayette and started a florist business at Gaasch's Garden on Underwood
street, where there were already greenhouses, which he rented. About 1875
he moved to the south side of Indiana avenue, renting ground at Nineteenth
street of Moses Fowler in what is now known at the Echo addition. Here
he built a greenhouse and carried on his business in a very successful manner,
but upon the death of Mr. Fowler he moved, buying land of Martin L.
Peirce, consisting of nine acres on Indiana avenue. This was in 1900, and
since that time he has added to his original purchase from year to year until
his holdings at present are not only extensive but very valuable. In 1905, Mr.
Dorner purchased twenty-four acres at Twenty-fourth street and Indiana
avenue and built greenhouses there. Mrs. John Heath was the former owner
of this property. When Mr. Dorner started in business at Nineteenth street
and the north side of Indiana avenue he had three houses and about seven
thousand square feet of glass. This was in 1890. The growth of his busi-
ness since that date has been phenomenal and is gradually increasing. He
now has one hundred thousand square feet of glass, and his residence at
Nineteenth street and Indiana avenue is one of the attractive homes of Lafay-
ette, being modern, commodious and in the midst of the most attractive
grounds in this locality, surrounded by broad lawns, with winding walks, many
kinds of rare and beautiful shade trees surrounding the home, which in every
way is an ideal one. Mr. Dorner has a down-town office and retail establish-
ment at No. 640 Main street, which is usually a busy place. Since 1890 he
has made a specialty of growing carnations, and no finer specimens than
those produced in his greenhouses are to be found anywhere ; their beauty and
quality have become so widely known that his shipments extend from the
Great Lakes to the Gulf and from the Atlantic to the Pacific oceans. He has
been quite successful in the culture of new varieties of this favorite flower.
Thirteen children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Dorner, four sons and
three daughters of which number are now living, six having died in
early life, three in infancy. Frederick died when two years old; Margaret
died when seven years of age : Christine reached the age of twenty-one before
summoned to the silent land; those living are: Fred E.. Jr., married Ida
Prass and they are the parents of two children. Dorothy and Fred. Theodore
A. married Lillian Harrington, of Lafayette, and they are the parents of two
children, Catherine and Lucile. Herman B. : William Philip; Emily is at
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 567
home ; Anna married Fred E. Hudson, who assists Mr. Dorner in the green-
house, and he and his wife are the parents of one child, James Frederick;
Emma married Claude Riddle and lives in Los Angeles, California ; they are
the parents of three children, George, Margaret and Claude. Fred, Theodore,
Emily, Anna and Emma, also Fred Hudson are stockholders in the business
conducted by Mr. Dorner. Herman Dorner is professor of floriculture at
Urbana, Illinois, in the horticultural department of the college there. William
Dorner is living at home and is attending Purdue University.
Mr. Dorner's business was incorporated in 1896 under the laws of the
state, the officers being as follows: Frederick Dorner. Sr., president; Theo-
dore Dorner, vice-president; Fred E. Dorner. Jr.. secretary and treasurer.
No family in Lafayette is better known or bears a better reputation than
that of the Dorners, each member of which holds high rank, both in business
and social circles.
JOHN SCHXAIBLE.
A well-known and influential business man in Lafayette. Indiana, is
John Schnaible, a man who is deserving of great credit for what he has
accomplished owing to the fact that he has been compelled to overcome in-
numerable obstacles that have thwarted his pathway from early childhood, but
being possessed of those innate characteristics that always make for success
despite adversity, he has pushed aside all hindering causes that would have a
tendency to deflect his course from the true goal he has sought, and he is
today president of a large and constantly growing manufacturing concern,
built up very largely through his untiring efforts — the M. & J. Schnaible
Company, soap manufacturers.
John Schnaible was born July 30, 1837, in Wurttemberg, Germany, the
son of Michael and Dorothea Schnaible. who. in 1853, started from their
old home in the Fatherland to the newer republic of the west, and after a
disastrous voyage of forty-seven days. Mrs. Schnaible and her five children
landed in the harbor of New York, the father and one child. Jacob, having
died on the way over of cholera which invaded the ship, taking forty-seven
of its passengers. Also a brother of IMichael, Sr., fell a victim to the dread
scourge. The children who sur\-ived were Margaret. John, George, Michael
and Matt. John had the cholera but recovered. Three other members of
this family of Schnaible children had died before the family left Germany.
In February. 1854. i\Irs. Dorothea Schnaible and her voung children
568 PAST AND PRESENT
penetrated into the interior, coming to Lafayette, Indiana. Their means hav-
ing been nearly exhausted, the children that were old enough to work sought
employment at whatever they could get to do. Michael found em-
ployment in a little soap factory and this was the beginning of the interesting
and successful career of the Schnaible brothers in this line of business. His
brother, John, found employment in the same factory in 1858. These brothers
worked hard and saved their money until ten years later. In 1868 they were
enabled to purchase the plant and went into business for themselves under the
name of M. & J. Schnaible, and by judicious management the plant has grad-
ually grown until today its products are well known and eagerly sought after
in a wide territory, their plant being equipped with all modern appliances and
managed with a superb system. It became necessary for them to build a brick
building in which to house their factory. Later they found it necessary to
add on a large addition. In the spring of 1899 the business had been incor-
porated under the name of M. & J. Schnaible Company and other members of
the family were taken in. The firm manufactures laundry soaps exclusively,
among their best known brands being "Star City," "Daylight" and "Does-it-
Easy Naptha." Their trade extends over all Indiana, Ohio, Missouri, Iowa,
Kentucky, Alabama ; also a part of West Virginia and other states.
When the Schnaible family landed in America John Schnaible, of this
re\iew, was sixteen years old. He had attended school in Germany and
spent his early boyhood on the farm. On August 18, 1869, he was united in
marriage with Mary ]\Iertz. of Baden, and this union has resulted in the birth
of three children, two of whom died in infancy, and the other, a boy named
Willie, died in childhood.
Mr. and INIrs. Schnaible are members of the German Lutheran church, in
which the former has been an elder for many years. In politics he is a Demo-
crat. Mr. and Mrs. Schnaible have a neat and comfortable home. They are
kind, hospitable, hard workers. In the summer of 1909 they took an enjoy-
able trip to the Pacific coast, visiting California and Washington.
SAMUEL PROBASCO BAIRD.
Samuel Prol)a.sco Baird is a son of Zebulon and Martha M. (Probasco)
Baird. He was born in Lafayette and has lived there continuously except
during the period of his engagement abroad in the service of his country. He
was educated in the common and private schools of Lafayette until 1861,
when he entered the L'nited States Xaval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland,
/«^^;^:^/X^-
The Century Hih.2i
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 569
remaining there four years. In 1865 he was graduated with honor and became
a fuU-fledged midshipman in the navy of the United States. The following
year he was ordered for duty as a midshipman on board the United States
ship "Pensacola," commanded by Capt. John L. Worden, of "Monitor" fame.
The "Pensacola" sailed from New York for the North Pacific station, and,
after visiting the most important seaports on both coasts of South America,
arrived at San Francisco in 1867. Here Mr. Baird received his commission
as ensign and was detached from the "Pensacola" and ordered for duty as an
officer of the deck, on board the United States ship "Resaca." Within a few
months he became navigating officer of this ship and in less than a year its
executive officer, and while on duty aboard the "Resaca" he was promoted
from ensign to master and from master to lieutenant. During this period the
"Resaca" was employed in cruising along' the west coast of Mexico, and, hav-
ing seen much hard service, she was ordered to Mare Island navy yard, San
Francisco, for repairs. The executive officer of a man-of-war is always held
responsible for the general condition of his ship and the discipline and efficiency
of its officers and crew. Although Lieutenant Baird was the youngest among
all the executive officers of the fleet, both in years and length of service, yet
his ship and crew were always considered in every respect equal to the best.
In July, 1869, Lieutenant Baird was ordered East, and, after a short leave of
absence, was assigned to duty at the Boston navy yard. Subsequently he
served at Mound City, New Orleans and Key West. on iron-clad duty. In
1 87 1 he was ordered to the United States Naval Academy as instructor in
seamanship and naval tactics at the request of Admiral Worden, who was
then superintendent of the academy and had been captain of the "Pensacola"
when Mr. Baird served on her as midshipman. After filling the position one
year, he obtained a leave of absence and soon afterward resigned his com-
mission as lieutenant in the navy in order to take up the practice of law in
Lafayette. Mr. Baird had long contemplated this step, and for several
years before resigning devoted to the study of law all of his time not required
for the performance of his official duties, and in this way qualified himself
for admission to the bar. He had become convinced that the active pur-
suits of civil life, in a congenial profession, would be preferable to the duties
of an officer of the navy in time of peace. He entered upon the practice of
the law as a partner and under the guidance of his father and to the instruc-
tion thus received at the threshold of his career as a practitioner. Mr. Baird
ascribes a large measure of his success at the bar. After the death of his
father, in 1877, he practiced alone for ten years and then formed a partner-
ship with \y. DeWitt Wallace, which continued until the latter was elected
5/0 PAST AND PRESENT
judge of the superior court in 1894. Since that time he has carried on his
practice alone. Mr. Baird has devoted himself to the law without reserve and
has neither held nor sought political office. His practice has been principally
in the courts of Tippecanoe and adjoining counties and in the supreme court.
In the management and trial of cases he has been associated with or pitted
against the leading lawyers of Indiana and adjacent states, and he has been
engaged as counsel in most of the important litigation in his section of the
state during the last twenty years. His personal character is irreproachable.
In 1881, Mr. Baird married Elizabeth D. Rochester, daughter of the late
William K. Rochester, Esq., of Lafayette. They had one child, a son,
Rochester Baird. Mrs. Baird died on May 27. 1903.
In 1906, Rochester Baird graduated from the Indiana University, receiv-
ing the degree of Bachelor of Laws, and was admitted to the bar by the
supreme court and the United States district court for the state of Indinna.
Following in the footsteps of his grandfather and father, he commenced and
is now engaged in the practice of his chosen profession at Lafavette.
HUGH SEABAUGH JAMISON.
One of Lafayette's honored and well-known business men is Hugh S.
Jamison, a descendant of sterling pioneer ancestry, he himself having come
down to the present generation from pioneer days and has played well his
part in the subsequent development of this favored section of the great
Hoosier state from its wildernesses to present-day opulent prosperity. He
was born November 21, 1837, at Greensburg, Indiana, the son of Martin
and Margaret (Freeman) Jamison. The former's father was also named
Martin, his wife having borne the name of Barbara. They came from Greens-
burg, Pennsylvania, about 1820, and settled near the present city of Greens-
burg, Indiana. Martin Jamison, Jr., was born in Washington county, Penn-
sylvania, in 1806, in which county his wife, Margaret Freeman, was also
born, in 1812. They made a toilsome journey across the mountains to
Indiana and settled on the present i^ublic square of Greensl)nrg, the surround-
ings then being decidedly wild and primitive, but they lived to see its wondrous
improvements, doing their just share of the work of development. Martin
Jamison, Jr., is remembered as a man of unusual natural ability. He had
a good education and was an able lawyer for those days, becoming prominent
in pfiliticnl affairs, having ably represented Decatur countv in tlie sessions
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 571
of the legislature from 1839 to 1842, inclusive, during which time he wrought
a great influence for the good of his constituents. He was a staunch Whig and
an admirer and supporter of Henry Clay. Before he began practicing law he
followed merchandising for a time, bringing his goods from New York or
Philadelphia by stage, and he sent back produce to pay for the same. After
he began the practice of law he filled his appointments at various courts,
however remote, riding thereto on horseback. He was a forceful speaker,
well versed in the tenets of the law, and was very popular over his district.
To Mr. and Mrs. Martin Jamison, Jr., the following children were born:
John, Cynthia A. (who married John P. Hittle), Sarah, Hugh S. and Wil-
liam. Of these only Hugh S., of this review, survives. Up to 1884 the
latter lived in Greensburg most of the time and engaged in the clothing and
dry goods business in that city from 1865 for several years. In 1877 he
entered the music business in that place and continued in the same until 1880,
when for two years he was manager of a large clothing store. He made a
success of all these lines, owing to his innate business qualifications, but the
confinement in the clothing store was bad for his health and he returned to the
music business, which he continued until 1884, in which year he disposed of
his interests at Greensburg and came to Lafayette. He was salesman for two
years for one music store in this city and eleven years for another, then, after
spending two years as salesman for a third music store, he went into business
for himself, in 1897. He has been successfully engaged in the music business
on North Ninth street for more than ten years, during which time he has
enjoyed a large and extensive patronage. He has a neat, well-kept and at-
tractive store, stocked with various grades and types of musical instruments,
his stock always being carefully selected.
Mr. Jamison was united in marriage, December 13, 1866, with Ella Nora
Barnes, of Greensburg, Indiana, the daughter of Turner and Miriam Barnes.
Mr. Barnes, who was a soldier in the Civil war, is still living at the advanced
age of eighty-five years. He was a member of the famous Wilder's Brigade.
He is a man of exceptionally clean character, and he is in possession of all
his faculties, possesses a steadv hand, a clear brain and an excellent memory.
To Mr. and Mrs. Jamison four children ha\-e been born, three of whom
are living, namely : Lafayette Freeman, of New York, engaged in the broker-
age business ; James Blaine, who graduated in pharmacy at Purdue Univer-
sity in 1903, is now in Boston, Massachusetts, also engaged in the brokerage
business; Genevieve is now the wife of William E. Kurtz, a well-known
business man in Indianapolis; Cynthia Elbert, who died February 12. 1889,
was the wife of Harry P. Dodd, a traveling auditor on the Lake Erie railroad.
572 PAST AND PRESENT
In 1908 Mr. Jamison built a new home on North Ninth street which is
worthy of brief mention. There are larger and costher dweUings in Lafayette,
but few calculated to be the source of more genuine home comforts in the
fullest sense. It stands on high ground in an excellent neighborhood; the
rooms are all well lighted and exceptionally well ventilated; the upstairs is
finished in light wood of high grade, many parts showing a beautiful velvety
grain. It is equipped with the latest and best system of plumbing, the linen
closets and kitchen being especially convenient. Steam heat is generated
in the large cemented basement which underlies the whole house. The large
front room, reception hall and another room are all connected by broad open
doorways, on either side of which are columns of golden oak. A large open
fireplace, with attractive finishings, greets the visitor, who is delighted with
both the symmetry and convenience of the interior. The house is lighted
by both gas and electricity. Here genuine hospitality and good cheer ever
prevail, for Mr. and Mrs. Jamison are generous, frank, kind and courteous,
making all feel at home who cross their threshold. By good management
and economy they have accumulated a comfortable fortune, and they are in
every way deserving of the high esteem in which they are held by all who
know them.
THOMAS JEFFERSON BARNES.
A worthy scion of distinguished and sterling ancestors is Thomas Jef-
ferson Barnes, son of Samuel Barnes and grandson of John Barnes. Samuel
lived on a farm in Tippecanoe township, this county, all his life from the
time he came here in November, 1848, until his death, March 14, 1S63,
having developed an excellent farm. He married Nancy Rice, who survived
him until May 31, 1885. Samuel Barnes was the son of John and Elizabeth
(Boydston) Barnes, the former a native of Virginia and the latter of one of
the Carolinas. When John Barnes was eight years old he rode on a steam-
boat invented by his uncle twenty years before Robert Fulton, the supposed
first inventor of the steamboat, got his patent. This uncle. Joseph Barnes,
died in London, where he was detained for life by the British government
because he was apprehended trying to deport mechanics to work on his boat,
then building in America.
John Barnes, mentioned above, the grandfather of Thomas J. Barnes,
was a son of John Barnes, who came from England when a young man and
settled in \'irginia near Harper's Ferry. He enlisted at the beginning of the
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 573
Revolutionary war, was promoted to captain, and served as such until the
close of the war. The Boydstons were also of Revolutionary stock.
Thomas J. Barnes was born in Pike county, Ohio, August 21, 1847. I"
November of the following year the Barnes family moved to Tippecanoe county
locating on a farm in Tippecanoe township, two and three-fourths miles north-
east of Battle Ground in the north end of Burnett's Reserve. The farm con-
sisted of four hundred and sixty-five acres. It was on this place that Thomas
J. grew to maturity, on which he worked during the summer months, attend-
ing the subscription schools in the winter, also went to the collegiate insti-
tute at Battle Ground, receiving a good education and remaining upon the
home farm until 1882. In November of that year he was elected county
auditor, serving very creditably for four years, in fact, so faithfully did he
discharge the duties of this office that he was re-elected for a term of four
more years in 1886. In 1891 he started in the hardware business, having
entered into partnership with Cyrenius Johnson, who had been in busines,s
a number of years previously, the firm name being then changed to The John-
son-Barnes Hardware Company. Mr. Barnes continued in that line until
March, 1898, when he formed a partnership with Charles W. Bone in the
real estate business, in which Mr. Barnes has been engaged ever since, having
built up an extensive business by reason of close application to individual
affairs. For several years he has devoted considerable attention to emigration
to the irrigated lands of the Denver-Greeley district in Colorado. In March,
1909, Mr. Barnes was appointed president of the board of police commis-
sioners in Lafayette for a term of three years, which position he is holding in a
manner that is winning the hearty approval of all concerned.
November 21, 1872. Mr. Barnes was united in marriage with Mary H.
Mason, the daughter of E. P. Mason, of Brookston, White county, Indiana.
Mr. Mason was one of the old and highly respected pioneers of Tippecanoe
county, having come here fom Vermont, in which state he was born. He
lived for a short time near Romney, this county, then moved to Lafayette
where he conducted the Mason House. To Mr. and Mrs. Thomas J. Barnes
five children have been born, namely : Gertrude Mason, Mary Grace, Thomas
J., Jr., Lois Christine and Helen Virginia. These children are receiving all
the advantages possible in the way of education, etc. The Barnes residence is
a comfortable and pleasantly located one.
Mr. Barnes, in his fraternal relations, belongs to the Free and Accepted
Masons, having taken the Knight Templar degrees. A criterion of his high
standing in Tippecanoe county is found in the fact that he is the first Demo-
crat ever elected countv auditor, and he was the first one to hold the office
574 PAST AND PRESENT
two terms consecutively, and only one other man has done so since then. He
has been several times president of the Jackson Club, and is a charter member
of the Lafayette Club. He is a well read man, keeping well abreast of the
times in current events and the best literary topics, having a large and care-
fully selected library. His daughters and son, who are all favorites in the
younger social set of the city, are also of studious dispositions. Owing to
Mr. Barnes's ancestors having fought in the Revolutionary war, his daughter,
Gi ace, is a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, and Thomas
J. Barnes, Jr., is a member of the Sons of the American Revolution. No
citizen in the county is better or more favorably known that Mr. Barnes.
WILLIA^I A. ROBERTS.
A man deserving of much credit for what he has accomplished in the
world of business, considering his early environments, is William A. Roberts,
whose name needs no introduction to the people of Tippecanoe county where
his active and useful life has been spent, having been born in the city of
Lafayette, September 26, 1854, the son of James and Philinda (Packard)
Roberts. The former was a native of Pennsylvania who came to Lafayette,
Indiana, as early as 1834. He was a cabinetmaker by trade and conducted
the first cabinetmaker's shop of any consequence in this part of the state.
A very skilled workman, he found a ready sale for what he produced in this
line. He became well known here, and he was a man of such high integrity
that after his deatli his son was accepted without question by a judge of the
court when told that he was the son of James Roberts. Philinda Pickard,
before her marriage to James Roberts, came from the state of New York
about 1845. ^"d went into the millinery business for herself in Lafayette,
being a leader here in her line.
When William A. Roberts was about ten years old his mother died, and
he was thus deprived of her loving care, forced to stand against the world
without her to champion his rights, but this he did right bravely, thus fostering
that independence of spirit, that ability to "go it alone" which has contributed
much to his subsequent success. His father was ever solicitous of his welfare,
however, and gave him an education. He attended the old Central school
at Sixth and Brown streets in Lafayette, now called the Centennial school.
After leaving that school he attended a private school for some time, then
went to Stockwell Collegiate Institute, which, at that time, was a noted insti-
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 575
tution with four hundred pupils. In later years the school lost its prestige
and, in 1895, Mr. Roberts became the owner of the building and grounds
where he had spent the latter days of his school life. He demolished the
old building and platted the grounds into town lots. After he had finished
his course at Stockwell he went to Thorntown, where he was employed in
the drug business for a period of si.x years. Although he prospered at this.
he returned to Lafayette believing that better opportunities existed for him
in his native city than elsewhere, and he was then employed in the grocery
business for about two years. Then seeing an opening at Zionsville, Indiana.
he spent the next seven years in that town where he and his brother-in-law
conducted a general store, building up an extensive trade in the meantime.
Here his health failed and he took up railroad work, having studied civil
engineering at Stockwell College, and he began running levels in railroad
construction work in this locality. In a short time, however, he went in
Pennsylvania where he was with a corps of engineers on a preliminary sur\ey
for a proposed narrow gauge railroad from Pittsburg to Philadelphia. This
work lasted for about a year and six months. Upon returning to Tippecanoe
county Mr. Roberts bought a farm at Stockwell and lived there until 1897.
In that year he was appointed superintendent of the county asylum, in which
position he remained for a period of nine years, rendering entire satisfaction
to all concerned, leaving the institution in the fall of 1905 when he mo\-ed
to Lafayette and took a position as superintendent for the Western Con-
struction Company. In February, 1906, he was appointed police commissioner
in this city. Soon after taking office he found that the salaries and condi-
tions regidating the employment of policemen were inadequate, and that the
service would necessarily be unsatisfactory unless a change was instituted.
He appealed to Governor Hanly and secured a raise in salaries to a fair basis,
and also got other conditions changed tending to the betterment of the depart-
ment. In recognition of his services in this connection the local police force
presented Mr. Roberts a beautiful gold badge. In 1908 Mr. Rol>erts was
chairman of the Republican county central committee, and largely due to his
efficient management of the local affairs of the party the whole county ticket
was elected and there was also a gain of two township trustees to liis credit
for the party.
Mr. Roberts was married, in 1877, to Ella J. Rash, whose home was near
Linden. Montgomery county, and to this union four children have been born,
namely: Laura A., James L., Harriett E. and W. Albert. They constitute
a happy and mutuallv helpful household at the pleasant home which Mr,
Poberts purchased in 1906 in Highland Park section of the city. It !■; a
576 PAST AND PRESENT
modern and attractive dwelling surrounded by well kept lawns. ]\Ir. Roberts
is the owner of a very valuable and highly improved farm of two hundred
acres, located a mile west of Stockwell. The soil is rich and yields abundant
harvests, the place is kept well stocked and on it stand substantial and com-
fortable buildings.
Mr. Roberts is a Mason of high standing, having passed through both
the York rite and Scottish rite ; he also belongs to the Ancient Arabic Order
of Nobles of the Mystic Shrine ; also the Benevolent and Protective Order of
Elks, the Knights of Pythias and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows,
having passed through all the chairs, attended the grand lodge in 1879 ^"<^
the grand encampment in 1883, and in 1896 he was a member of the sovereign
lodge of the world. And in all these great orders Mr. Roberts has become
well known and one would judge from his daily walk among his fellowmen
that he makes an effort to exemplify their sublime teachings. He is also a
member of the Christian church. Personally, he is a man of genial but
positive character, straightforward, generous, self-reliant and reliable, conse-
quently no man in Tippecanoe county holds higher rank as a citizen.
WILLIAM WALLACE.
The career of the honored subject of this sketch indicates the clear-cut,
sane and distinct character and in reviewing the same, consistencv demands
that he be given distinctive precedence as a captain of industry and a con-
spicuous place among the men of action whose labors and influence permeate
the industrial and civic life not only of the city for whose growth and prog-
ress he has done so much, but of a number of other populous centers in
various parts of the state of his adoption.
William Wallace is a native of Scotland, born near the old historic city
of Edinburgh, January 19, 1841. In 1852 the family, consisting of the par-
ents, Adam and Rose (Bee) Wallace, and several children, emigrated to the
United States and went direct to Cincinnati, Ohio, where two of the subject's
brothers and a sister had previously located, he being about eleven years old
at the time. During the ensuing three or four years, young William attended
the schools of that city and on laying aside his books entered upon an appren-
ticeship with the old firm of John B. & T. Gibson to learn the plumbing
business, to which he devoted the five years following. The Civil war break-
ing out about the time he completed his apprenticeship, he enlisted in the
Benton Cadets, an independent organization under General Fremont, selected
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 577
for his body-guard and which during the General's operations in Missouri
rendered vakiable service in helping rid the state of the Confederate forces.
When Halleck superseded Fremont the company disbanded, quite a number
of the men joining other commands, while others returned to their homes,
among the latter being Mr. Wallace, who shortly after his discharge entered
the employ of Mr. Hattersley, of Ft. Wayne, Indiana, who kept the only
plumbing establishment in that city at that time. The Aveline Hotel (since
burned) was then in the process of construction, also the Allen county court
house. The plumbing of both buildings falling to Mr. Hattersley, Mr. Wal-
lace was intrusted with the task of installing the same, and it is needless to
state that the work was performed per contract to the satisfaction of all con-
cerned.
In October, 1864, Mr. Wallace came to Lafayette with the view of locating,
but after spending two or three months in the city he went to Terre Haute,
which he supposed presented a more favorable opening for his line of work.
After looking over the field there and carefully considering conditions, he
finally decided to choose the former place and accordingly -returned to La-
fayette and in due time established a small plumbing business. For lack of
necessary capital this was conducted on rather a modest scale until the close
of the war, when his brother James, who had served in the army, became
his partner. The two served apprenticeships at the same time and with the
same Cincinnati firm, both being skillful mechanics and well qualified for
the duties which now devolved upon them. About that time the Lafayette
Gas Company began a series of improvements and, requiring the services
of a competent man, the subject was induced to enter their employ. Soon
after engaging with the company he was tendered the superintendency of the
works in the city, which position he accepted on condition that he be allowed
to continue his plumbing business and carry it along with his other under-
takings. He had done considerable work for the gas company at Ft. Wayne
prior to his removal to Lafayette, hence was no novice when he accepted the
superintendency and entered upon the- duties of the position. In 1874, when
the city of Lafayette began operations for a system of water works, he Ijecame
the successful bidder and secured the contract for laying the mains in the
city, and constructing the reservoir, which was carried on under very discour-
aging circumstances, owing to an almost unprecedented rainfall which inter-
fered materially with the work, but which was carried to completion in due
time. In the month of August the river rose to such a height that the water
on the levee was six feet deep, while other parts of the city through which
the mains extended were also sulinier^-ed. causinL-; much delay in the nrittcr ni
(37)
578 PAST AND PRESENT
excavating and rendering work on the reservoir exceedingly ditificult. Not-
withstanding these hindrances. Mr. Wallace addressed himself resolutely to
the task in hand, and ere the close of the season finished the undertaking
according to the terms of the contract, with a liberal margin for his profits.
When work began on Purdue University, Air. Wallace was employed to
superintend the construction of the sewerage and water supply systems, in ad-
dition to which he was also awarded the contract for heating several of the
buildings. He carried the work forward as rapidly as circumstances would
admit and after its successful completion he located and laid out the gas plant
for the institution. The university has since grown so rapidly as to render
much of the work at the time indicated obsolete, the gas plant having been
abandoned a number of years ago, since which time the institution's gas sup-
ply has been provided by the Lafayette company.
The gas works, which Mr. Wallace still superintends, has enjoyed a
rapid and substantial growth, its patronage increasing from three hundred con-
sumers to more than four thousand, to supply whom sixty miles of mains are
required, the plant being a model of its kind and of sufficient capacity to meet
much more than the present demand. The company also operates plants in
about a dozen other cities in northern Indiana and northwestern Ohio, all
fully up-to-date and equipped with the latest results of inventive genius for
the manufacture and distribution of gas, these as well as the principal estab-
lishment at Lafayette being subject to the oversight of Mr. Wallace, who
visits them when necessary and suggests such additions and improvements
as are needful.
The Wallace Machine and Foundry Company of Lafayette, witli which
the subject is itlentified, was established about 1888 or 1889 by William Wal-
lace and his son, Robert B. Wallace, who began operations in abuildingerecteil
for the purpose on Second street, but meeting with a severe loss by fire a
little later, they purchased a part of the old car works on Third street which
they refitted and equipped with first-class machinery and other appliances,
this plant with two or three acres of ground surrounding affording ample
facilities for the s'.:ccessful prosecution of their hrge and rapidlv growing
business. The company has an extensive trade in structural and architectural
iron, which they manufacture in large quantities and ship to various ]iarts of
Indiana. Illinois. Ohio and other states, besides doing general tVnmdrv and
machine shop work. The company is in a flourishing condition and under
the presidency of William Wallace bids fair to grow to still larger propor-
tions and continue in the future as in the past one of the leading industrial
enterprises of the city.
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 579
The plumbing establishment of Wallace Brothers Company, which he
and his brother James started in Lafayette when he first came to the city,
does a large and lucrative business in that line. He continues as president
of the company, while George B. Wallace is secretary and acting manager.
This company employs none but skillful artisans and its reputation for the
high standard of all work has brought a patronage which from the beginning
has steadily increased.
Aside from his manufacturing and industrial interests Mr. Wallace
is actively identified with various other lines of enterprise which have tended
greatly to the advancement and welfare of Lafayette. Durng the last quarter
of a century he has been connected with the First National Bank of this city,
and since 1891 has been the efficient and honored vice-president of the same,
also one of its heavy stockholders. In the year 1899 he assisted in estab-
lishing the Lafa3rette Loan and Trust Company, and was elected president
of the organization, which position he still worthily holds. He is also a
director of the Sterling Electric Company, of his home city, and, with a
nephew, is interested in the milling business at the town of Dale, in Spencer
county, this state, being half owner of the plant and president of the com-
pany by which it is operated. For some years he has been quite extensively
interested in street railway and interurban traction lines, in which, with the
Murdocks, he has large holdings in Evansville and South Bend, to say noth-
ing of various other enterprises of less but by no means negative importance.
The married life of Mr. Wallace dates from the year 1867, when Miss
Catherine Wilson became his wife, the ceremony having been solemnized
in the city of Cincinnati, where the parents of the bride settled when they
immigrated to the United States from their native country, Scotland. Mr.
and Mrs. Wallace have had six children, one of whom died in infancy ; those
living are Mrs. Henry Brockenbrough ; Robert B. ; Mrs. Rose Van Natta ;
Roy W. and Belle, the two sons being interested with their father in the
foundry and machine shop business. Robert B. Wallace was educated at
Purdue University, of which he was an early student and one of the first of
that institution to take a mechanical course. He is now manager of the
Wallace Machine and Foundry Company, of Lafayette, and one of the most
thorough mechanics in the city. Roy is a well educated and accomplished
young man and as a mechanical engineer has few equals and no superiors in
the city of his residence. He was graduated from Purdue and Cornell Uni-
versities and since becoming interested in the a])ove company witli his father
and brother has been the mechanical engineer of the enterprise.
In his political proclivities, Mr. Wallace has ever been a Reuuhlican. but
580 PAST AND PRESENT
not a politician in tlie sense the term is usually understood, much less a seeker
after the honors and emoluments of office. He was reared a Presbyterian,
but of recent years has attended the Baptist church with his family, the latter
being members of the First Church of that body at Lafayette. Fraternally he
is identified with the Masonic order and from time to time has been honored
with important official positions in the local Blue lodge to which he belongs.
In the midst of the thronging cares of an exceptionally active and suc-
cessful career in the industrial and business world, Mr. Wallace has never
been else than the genial true-hearted friend and sincere straightforward
man, appreciative of the welfare of those with whom his lot has been cast,
regardless of the stations in life they hold. He has mingled much with men in
an executive capacity, and possesses the subtle yet readily understood power
of begetting loyalty on the part of those in his employ or working under his
direction, while his relations with those and others have ever been of the most
friendly and trustful character. No man in Lafayette is held in higher regard
as a citizen and few have done as much as he for the general welfare of the
city. In person he is above the average size, of a large, compact frame, unas-
suming in manner, easily approachable, and affable and kindly in conversation.
Frank, honest, industrious and by nature and training fitted to inaugurate
and carry to successful conclusion large and important enterprises, he has
stamped the impress of his individuality upon the community and is essentially
one of the representative men of the city in which he resides.
HUGH FLACK.
Hugh Flack is a native of Ireland and dates his birth from December 7,
1846. having first seen the light of day in county Cavan, which, for a number
of years, had been the home of his ancestors. His parents, Samuel and
Mary (Bell) Flack, came to the United States some time prior to the Civil
war and settled in New York, but about the year 1866 they migrated westward
as far as Tippecanoe county, Indiana, and engaged in agricultural pursuits.
The following year they were joined by their two sons. Hugh and John, who,
landing at New York on the first day of July, lost no time in proceeding on
their way to the new home in Indiana.
Shortly after his arrival in Tippecanoe county, Hugh Flack entered the
service of Samuel Meharry, a well-to-do farmer of the neighborhood of Shaw-
nee Mound, and a local minister of the Methodist Episcopal church, in whose
employ he continued for a p^iod of eight years, during which time he bus-
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 581
banded his earnings with scrupulous care with the object in view of ultimately
becoming a tiller of the soil upon his own responsibility. Mr. Meharry, being
not only one of the leading farmers and representative citizens of the com-
munity but a man of large heart and generous impulses as well, took great
interest in the young gentleman, giving him the benefit of his counsel and
advice, which in after years resulted greatly to his advantage. While in the
employ of this excellent man, Mr. Flack made the acquaintance of an estimable
young lady by the name of Sarah Laugheed, a native of the same part of
Ireland in which he was born, but who had come to America some years
previous and at the time referred to was living with the family of G. N.
Meharry, a nephew of his employer. This acquaintance ripening into love,
finally resulted in a marriage, which was duly solemnized on the 15th day of
April, 1877, immediately after which Mr. Flack set up his domestic establish-
ment on the Meharry farm where he continued to reside as a renter during
the eight years ensuing.
Mrs. Flack's parents were Robert and Margaret (Ray) Laugheed, the
former a son of Adam Laugheed, a native of Scotland, who migrated to
Ireland in early manhood and settled in county Cavan, where his death sub-
sequently occurred at the remarkable age of one hundred and three years.
Mr. and Mrs. Robert Laugheed reared their family and spent their lives
in the above county, their daughter, Sarah, having been born on November 2,
1846. Cast upon her own resources after the death of her parents, she
finally decided to seek her fortune in the great country across the sea. Ac-
cordingly, in 1867, she set sail and, landing in due time, made her way to
Tippecanoe county, Indiana, arriving at Shawnee Mound on February 14th
of that year and found employment and a good home with Mr. Meharry, as
already stated.
During the eight years that Mr. and Mrs. Flack occupied the Meharry
farm they labored untiringly and saved their earnings so that at the expira-
tion of that time they were enabled to purchase one hundred and twenty acres
of their own near Shawnee Mound, where, in due season, they began reaping
the results of their sowing in the condition of independence, which they have
ever since maintained. After a residence of nearly eight years on the above
farm, during which time the place was not only paid for but greatly enhanced
in value, Mr. Flack sold it and purchased one hundred seven and one-half
acres of fine land near Battle Ground on which he lived and prospered until
the spring of 1908, when he retired from active life to enjoy the fruits of his
many years of labor and good management. In all of his efforts to rise in the
world, Mr. Flack found an able and willing assistant in the person of his
faithful and devoted wife and helpmeet.
582 PAST AND PRESENT
In March, 1908, 'Sir. Flack turned his farm over to other hands and,
accompanied by his wife, revisited the home of his childhood in the beautiful
Emerald Isle, renewing many acquaintances with those whom he knew in
boyhood. After spending two months in the land of their birth, Mr. and Mrs.
Flack returned to the United States and since that time have been living
retired lives in the city of Lafayette, where they have a comfortable home
and numerous friends. Both are respected members of the Methodist Epis-
copal church and in his fraternal relations Mr. Flack belongs to the Masonic
lodge at Battle Ground, in which, from time to time, he has been honored
with important official positions.
i\Ir. and Mrs. Flack are the parents of four children, the oldest of whom,
a daughter by the name of Maggie Meharry, married C. B. Downes, who, in
1909. sold his farm in Tippecanoe county and moved to the Pan Handle of
Texas, where they now reside ; they have two sons, Russell and Glenn, and are"
well situated as far as material means are concerned. Mary Elizabeth, whose
birth occurred November 3, 1876, died on the 15th of the same month and year.
William, the third of the family, married Mary Norris, of Delphi, and is
the father of one child, a daughter named Marguerite. He is a farmer by
occupation and for some time past has been living on his father's home place
near Battle Ground. Luella, the fourth in order of birth, is the wife of
William Greenup, a member of the wealthy and widely known Greenup family
of Delphi, where she has lived since her marriage, being at this time the
mother of two interesting children, Nellie and Joe, aged nine and seven years,
respectively.
MATT SCHNAIBLE.
The advent of the Schnaible family in the New World was most dis-
couraging and apparently the future held nothing for them, when, after a
disastrous voyage in the summer of 1853, members of this family landed in
New York, having come from their native Germany to seek a better home in
free America. They had eked out a bare living in Wurttemberg, Germany,
for many years, and the father, Michael Schnaible, desiring to give his sons
a better opportunity than he had ever enjoyed, concluded that the wisest
thing for him to do was to establish a new home; but this was an unfortu-
nate decision, for during the voyage to this country cholera invaded the sail-
ing vessel and forty-seven of the passengers succumbed to the dread dis-
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 583
ease, including Michael Schnaible and his son Jacob, his brother and his uncle,
all of whom were buried at sea. John Schnaible, who contracted the disease,
recovered, and the mother, Dorothea Schnaible, finished the voyage, which
required forty days, with her remaining children, Margaret, Michael, John,
George and Matt. Three of her children had died in the Fatherland. The
means of the family were nearly exhausted when they reached New York.
After spending a few months there, they started for the West in February,
1854, finally reaching Lafayette, Indiana, where the boys who were old
enough to work found employment of whatever nature they could to make
a living. Michael secured work in a small soap factory near the water works
and continued in the same until 1858. Being an observing boy, he learned
the business, as did also his brother John, who secured employment in the
same plant. Believing that they could make a success manufacturing soap
on their own account, they began business under the firm name of M. & J.
Schnaible Company, which eventually developed into a large business and
the family became well established, enjoying a good home and the comforts of
life.
Matt Schnaible was only a baby when the family brought him from
Germany, where he was born in 1853. He grew to manhood in Lafayette,
attended the Lutheran schools and also a business college, receiving a good
education. He first secured work as engineer in the Wabash elevator, which
establishment was built by the Wabash Railroad Company in 1857 and was
first operated by James Spears, who was succeeded by Morcy & Ball, and in
1875 by L E. Haviland. In 1876 Matt Schnaible, having mastered the
details of this business and having shown himself a capable employe in every
respect, was made manager, and in 1882 he became a partner in the concern
for which he had faithfully worked for a period of sixteen years, and the
firm name was I. E. Haviland Company. The business continued to prosper,
largely due to Mr. Schnaible's able management, and in about 1897 he bought
Mr. Haviland's interest, becoming sole owner. In 1904 he added a retail
coal business to his already extensive business, all of which is now incor-
porated under the name of Matt Schnaible Grain Company, which has become
widely known and is doing a large business. Besides the elevator at Lafay-
ette, Mr. Schnaible operates one at Shadeland, where he handles a large quan-
tity of grain from year to year, his combined business often running up to
very large figures, showing that he is by nature and training a business man
second to none in the thriving city of Lafayette.
Matt Schnaible was united in marriage with Katherine E. Sattler in
1880. She is the daughter of John Sattler, a prominent and influential busi-
584 I'AST AND PRESENT
ness man of Lafayette, a son of George Sattler. Both father and son were
born in Germany, John first seeing- the light of day in Hessen-Uarmstadt.
They came to America and located in Tippecanoe county, Indiana, alx)ut 1855.
John Sattler was for many years a leading tailor in Lafayette, became influen-
tial in business circles and was a trustee of the board of the Lafayette water
works, and for many years he was an officer in the Lutheran church.
To Mr. and Mrs. Matt Schnaible eight children have been born, of whom
one died in infancy. A daughter, Mrs. Adolph J. Lottes, lives in Chicago ;
Walter W. married Caroline Schurman, of Lafayette, and has one daughter
named Katherine. The other children are Albert F., vice-president of the
Shadeland Grain Company; Walter W., secretary and treasurer of the same
company; Oswald M. is a clerk in the Merchants' National Bank; Arthur T.,
Elmer A. and Raymond. These children all received careful training and
are well started in the successful battle of life.
Mr. Schnaible has long taken an active interest in the affairs of Lafay-
ette and Tippecanoe county, lending his aid wherever practicable in promot-
ing home interests. As a result of his public spirit he was in 1896 elected
a member of the city council. He and his family are members of the Luth-
eran church. Personally, Mr. Schnaible is frank, straightforward, courteous
and generous, a pleasant man to know.
ROBERT FOSTER HIGHT, A. B.
Prof. Robert F. Hight, superintendent of the Lafayette city schools, be-
longs to that class of middle-aged men who by thorough training and close
application to professional duties have come to be known as capable and front-
rank educators in this section of Indiana, He was born September 14, 1868,
at Bloomington, Indiana, a son of Milton and Sarah (McCalla) Hight. The
father graduated in law at the Indiana University in 1847, t)Ut never followed
his profession to any great extent, being induced to engage in business of
another character.
Professor Hight is descended from Revolutionary stock on both the
paternal and maternal sides. The Hight family originally came from Germany,
having emigrated to England, from which country they came to America. The
great-grandfather, Thomas Hight, enlisted in the Continental army from
North Carolina and was present at the surrender of Lord Cornwallis. The
family removed from Carolina to Virginia in 1780 and subsequently moved
to Boyle county, Kentucky, and about 1820 to Indiana.
^'^/^y/t
Tll-PECANOE COUNTY, IND. 585
Oil the mother's side. Professor Hight is descended from the great-
grandfather, Thomas McCalla, who came from county Antrim, Ireland, when
an orphan boy. He enhsted in the Revolutionary army from Lancaster
county, Pennsylvania. In 1778 he moved to South Carolina and served under
Sumpter. He was captured and imprisoned, but later, through the efforts of
his wife, was released on parole. His wife (Sarah Wayne Gardiner) was a
cousin of Gen. Anthony Wayne. In 1835 the subject's grandfather removed
from South Carolina to Indiana, where the two Revolutionary families be-
came intermarried.
Prof. Robert F. Hight was educated in the public schools of Bloomington,
Indiana, and in 1888 took the degree of Bachelor of Arts at Indiana Univer-
sity, where he specialized in natural science, under D. S. Jordan, J. C. Branner,
Theophilus Wylie and Daniel Kirkwood. Having fully equipped himself for
the work of an educator, in the modern sense of the term, from 1888 to 1891
he was instructor in biology in the high school at Huntington, Indiana. From
1 89 1 to 1902 he held the same position in the high school of the city of La-
favette and from 1902 to 1904 he was principal of the high school at the last
named city. He had so conducted himself as an instructor in these city
school positions that in 1904 he was chosen the superintendent of the city
schools here, and is still serving in that capacity, to the entire satisfaction of
all interested.
Socially, Professor Hight is connected with various societies and clubs,
including Beta Theta Pi college fraternity; Lafayette Club; Parlor Club and
Lafayette Dramatic Club, of which he was the president in 1903. He has
worked as a dramatic writer, having been in charge of this department for
the Lafayette Morning Journal from 1896 to 1898.
Professor Hight was united in marriage June 3, 1897, to Elizabeth Puett
Comingore. Under Mr. Hight's charge the public schools of Lafayette, which
are second to none in North Indiana, have maintained their position. The
subject is the author of the chapter in this work on "Literary Characters of
Tippecanoe County."
WILLIAM O. CROUSE.
The well-known family of which William O. Crouse is an honora'ile
representative is traceable in this country to a remote period in the time of
the colonies, and many years prior to coming to the New World the ante-
cedents of the American branch were quite well known in \-arious ])arts of
586 PAST AND PRESENT
i •. •'
Germany, where the name appears to have originated. Simeon Grouse, the
first of the family of whom there is definite record, was doubtless a native
of Wittenberg, as he figured conspicuously in the musical circles of that city
and for some years was choir master of the church to which Martin Luther,
the Great Reformer, ministered. He was a musician of much more than
local repute ; taught in Wittenberg for many years and after losing his family
by the red plague, which sad event occurred when he was in mid-life, he
came about the year 1745 to America and located at Philadelphia, Pennsyl-
vania, where he subsequently re-married and reared a large family. He
was a strong supporter of the colonies in their struggle for independence, con-
tributing by every means in his power to their ultimate success. He gave
freely of his means, and sent four sons to the army, two of whom lost their
lives in the battle of Germantown. Simeon Grouse was a man of note and
influence in his adopted city and lived to a remarkable age, dying two days
prior to the hundredth anniversary of his birth. His youngest son. Henry,
whose birth occurred in Philadelphia, married Rachael Hebison, who bore
him ten children, three of whom in after years came to Tippecanoe county,
Indiana, namely : Simeon, John and David Hebison Grouse.
David Grouse, about the year 1845, located at Dayton, Indiana, where
he engaged in the practice of medicine and in due time became one of the
most successful and best known physicians and surgeons of that community.
He was thrice married and left children by two wives, one of his sons, Dr.
Jerome Grouse, serving with distinction in the Tenth Indiana Battery during
the late Givil war and subsequently achieving an enviable reputation in his
profession. He departed this life in the fall of 1908, honored and esteemed
by all who knew him.
Another son of Dr. David Grouse was Meigs V. Grouse, who entered
the ministry in early life, but later, by reason of the failure of his voice,
he was obliged to give up that calling and turn his attention to another line
of duty. For nearly thirty years he has been the efficient and popular super-
intendent of the Ghildren's Home at Gincinnati, and has made the institution
a model of its kind. Two daughters of Doctor Grouse are still living, Mrs.
Earl, who resides in Attica, Indiana, and Mrs. Victoria Burton, who occupies
the old family home in Dayton, Indiana.
John and Simeon Grouse came west much earlier than Doctor David,
both having settled in Tippecanoe county as long ago as 1827. the former
in Tippecanoe county and the latter on the edge of Shawnee Prairie, in what
is now the township of Jackson, where he took up a half section of land.
John also entered a like amount and in the course of time both bec^me well-
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 587
to-do families and prominent citizens, doing much to promote the material
progress and social advancement of their respective communities.
Simeon Crouse was born in 1802, and when a young man married Anna
Christman, daughter of Peter and Sarah Christman, who moved to Indiana
in the early twenties from Raleigh, North Carolina, and settled in Warren
county, with the subsequent history of which Mr. Christman's life was closely
identified. Sarah Christman was the daughter of John Stout, who served
during the war of the Revolution as an officer of a New Jersey regiment and
achieved an honorable record as a brave and gallant soldier. The marriage
of Simeon Crouse and Anna Christman was solemnized in Union county, In-
diana, about the year 1825, some time before he became a resident of the
county of Tippecanoe. Their children, three in number, were Francis M., born
in 1828; Lavina, in 1836; and William O., the subject of this review, whose
birth occurred in the year 1842.
Simeon Crouse followed agricultural pursuits all his life and, as already
indicated, became one of the leading farmers of his township as well as one
of its representative citizens. He departed this life in 1874 and left to his
descendants the memory of an honorable name which they regard as a price-
less heritage. His children grew up in the country, attended the subscription
schools of their day and later rose to honorable positions in their respective
places of abode. Francis M. was in the book business at Lafayette for a
time, but disposing of his interests there went to Indianapolis, where he
established a large book store and became one of the leading dealers of the
city in that line of trade. He was a man of wide intelligence, profoundly
versed in the literature of all countries and all ages, and possessed remarkable
judgment as to the merits and value of old and rare books, of which he had
long been a collector. Quiet in demeanor and of kindly nature, he had many
warm friends, and his death, which occurred in Indianapolis in 1890, was
greatly deplored by the best people of the city.
Lavina Crouse married John Shelby and died in 1859.
William O. Crouse, the youngest of the children of Simeon and Anna
Crouse, spent the youthful years of his life in the township where he first
saw the light of day and was early taught the lessons of industry and
frugality which make for consecutive effort and permanent success in mater-
ial things, in addition to which he was also instructed in the principles of
truth and honor which in due time develop well-rounded character and fit
their possessor for the sterner realities of life. After finishing the common-
school course, he was planning to enter Wabash College, but the breaking out
of the great Civil war caused a radical change in his calculations, for instead
588 I'AST AXn I'RESENT
of prosecuting his studies further he resolved to tender his services to his
countr)' in its time of need. Enlisting in the Eighteenth Indiana Battery Light
Artillery, he was soon at the front where during the ensuing three years he
bore well his part in the great conflict which tested the perpetuity of the
government and earned a record for bravery of which any soldier might
well feel proud. Under the command of Capt. Eli Lilly, of Wilder's Brigade
of Mounted Infantry, the Eighteenth Battery passed through many unusually
trying and dangerous experiences. Supported by well-mounted and well-
armed men, under the command of oiificers of superior ability, it saw much
active service and was more frequently engaged than other batteries, the
brigade having been fifty-four times under fire, which included some of the
most noted battles of the war. Among the various engagements in which
Mr. Crouse participated were Hoover's Gap, Chattanooga, Alexander's Bridge,
Chickamauga, Ringgold, Resaca, Hopkinsville, Atlanta, Xashville. Selma.
West Point and many others. The battery started out with one hundred and
fifty men, and during its experience at the front three hundred more were
recruited from time to time, and on being mustered out at the close of the
war but twenty-six of the original force were left to tell the story of the many
deeds of daring which the gallant Eighteenth accomplished in defense of the
national union.
Returning home at the close of the war, Mr. Crouse entered into busi-
ness with his brother in the book business, which connection lasted several
years. During this period he contracted a matrimonial alliance with Sue X.
Barr, daughter of Abram and Catherine (Rush) Barr, who moved from Lan-
caster, Pennsylvania, in an early day, and were among the pioneer settlers of
Tippecanoe county. Mrs. Barr was a niece of the celebrated Dr. Benjamin
Rush, one of the most distinguished physicians of Philadelphia, in Revolu-
tionary times, and to him also belongs the honor of being one of the signers
of the Declaration of Independence. Mrs. Crouse comes from a distinguished
ancestry. Her father's people trace their line direct to Maurice Grauf, one
of the heroic defenders of the city of Leyden in Holland in 1574. Her
mother's people are lineal descendants from Capt. John Rush, an officer of
horse in Cromwell's army, who emigrated to this country from England with
William Penn in 1683, and settled near what is now Philadelphia. Mr. and
Mrs. Crouse have one child, a daughter, who answers to the name of Bertha
Barr Crouse, and who, with her parents, constitute an interesting and mutuallv
agreeable and happy domestic circle.
Since the year 1866. Mr. Crouse has been engaged in various lines of
business in Lafayette, but during the past fifteen vears has devoted his atten-
TIPPECANOE COUNTY. IND. 589
tion principally to real estate, loans and insurance, in which he has been con-
tinuously successful and in every respect gratifying. For over forty years he
has been an active and influential member of the Independent Order of Odd
Fellows, during which time he has held important offices in both the subordi-
nate lodge and encampment, besides being chosen at intervals a representa-
tive to the grand lodge. Religiously he subscribes to the Presbyterian faith,
and with his wife and daughter is a regular attendant of the church in Lafay-
ette and a generous contributor to its support and to the various lines of
activity under the auspices of the denomination in his own city and else-
where.
Mr. Crouse has always manifested a lively interest in everything pertain-
ing to the welfare of the community, its progress and upbuilding, and bears
the reputation of an enterprising, public-spirited citizen, with the good of
his fellowmen at heart. In both civil and military life he has demonstrated
his loyalty and love for his country, and his career throughout has been
above reproach and greatly to his credit as a true American who makes
every other consideration subordinate to his interest in the government and
the free institutions for the maintenance of which he devoted some of the
best years of his life and under which he has achieved marked success. In
manner. Mr. Crouse is free from all ostentatious display, but his intrinsic
worth is recognized and his friendship most prized by those who know him
best, showing that his character will bear the scrutiny of close acquaintance,
and that his life has been fraught with great good to those among whom his
lot has been cast and to the world at large.
MICHAEL SCHXAIBLE.
Dark and dismal was the tragedy that marked the coming to America of
the well-known familv of tliis name. Tiiey had long contemplated to move,
had discussed it over by the fireside and looked with longing to the land of
promise beyond tlie sea. Finally the momentous day arrived, and during
the summer of 1853 a sailing vessel departing from a German port contained
quite a party of relatives bound for the New \\'prld. Michael Sclinaible. the
recognized head of these emigrants, had long been a farmer in Wnrttemberg,
Germany, during the first quarter of the last century. He and his wife
Dorothea had had nine children, of whom three had died, leaving Margaret,
Jacob. Michael. John, George and ]\Iatt. and this familv, besides a number of
590 PAST AND PRESENT
relatives, constituted the party that took the ship for what was destined to be a
tragic voyage. In those days the passages were long and tedious, often con-
suming from a month to six weeks, and it took the vessel bearing these
natives of Wurttemberg full forty days to traverse the Atlantic. The horrors
of the passage were greatly aggravated by the breaking out of cholera in its
most virulent form, and forty-seven of the passengers died of the disease.
Included in this number were the elder Michael Schnaible and his son Jacob,
his brother and his uncle, all of whom were buried at sea under the gruesome
conditions surrounding such fatalities. John Schnaible contracted the disease,
but was fortunate enough to recover, and the mother finished the sad voy-
age with her remaining five children. They reached New York much de-
pressed in spirit and inclined to take a gloomy view of the outlook, as their
means were nearly exhausted and the future seemed to hold little for them.
After a month or two in the great metropolis, they started West in February,
1854, and after a tedious journey eventually reached Lafayette. The boys
who were old enough went to work at whatever they could find to do, but
in time an event occurred which proved fortuitous and was destined to in-
fluence the whole subsequent career of the Schnaible family. Michael found
a job in a little soap factory near the water-works, and. though the wages were
small, he was delighted with his good luck. He held on until 1858, when he
was joined by his brother John, and the two continued for some years as
faithful employes. This little factory had been started by Peirce and Cherry,
but in 1855 the former sold his interest to E. T. Jenks, and the latter two
years later bought the whole business. ^Meantime, the Schnaible brothers
had worked hard, learned all they could about the business and saved their
money. In 1868 they were able to buy the soap factory and engaged in busi-
ness for themselves as M. & J. Schnaible. Their affairs prospered and in
due time they built a commodious brick building to accommodate the factory.
Later, they found it necessary to erect an addition and business grew apace
until the soap factory became one of the important industries of Lafayette.
Michael Schnaible. senior member of the firm, was married in October.
1863, to Catherine Sattler, who died in 1867, leaving two children. Elizabeth
and Wilhelmina. In 1869, Mr. Schnaible married Mary Klaiber, of Wurttem-
berg, Germany, by whom he had six children: John F.. Louis. George, Emil,
August and William Adolpli. John P.. who took a course in chemistry at
Purdue University, died in 1908. Emil took a course in pharmacy at Purdue
and now owns a wholesale and retail drug store on the east side of the public
square. Louis died in youth, and the other brothers. George. August F. and
William Adolph. are connected with the soap factory. Michael Schnaible.
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 591
l
the father, died September 20, 1899. the mother having passed away in April,
1890. The sister and the younger sons reside in the old homestead at Seventh
and Heath streets. George, the third son, was married on October 21, 1903,
to Anna, daughter of John Kluth, who came from Germany in 1852, and
underwent a cholera-stricken \oyage similar to that which afflicted the
Schnaible family over. George and Mrs. Schnaible have one child, Ruth
Lillian, and the family reside in a handsome home on North Ninth street,
with a broad and beautiful view across the valley of the Wabash.
John Schnaible, junior partner with his brother Michael in the original
purchase of the soap factory, married Mary Mertz, of Baden, by whom he
had three children, two dying in infancy, and Willie, who passed away in
early childhood. In the spring of 1899, shortly before the death of Michael
Schnaible, the soap factory business was incorporated under the name of the
M. & J. Schnaible Company, and John F. and George v.^ere taken in as equal
partners. Two years later, August F. and William A. were also taken into
the company. Thev manufacture laundry soaps exclusively, their principal
brands being "Star City," "Daylight" and "Does-it-easy Naptha." The
business has grown steadily and greatly increased in capacity from the small
frame structure in which it was originally housed. Four different additions
have been built on, as the increase of business demanded more accommodation,
and in recent years another separate building has been erected. The com-
pany's trade extends over Indiana, Ohio. Missouri, Iowa, Kentucky, Alabama
and West \'irginia.
CHARLES H. BRADSHAW.
The life record of Charles H. Bradshaw, one of the well-known and
representative citizens of Tippecanoe county, Indiana, shows that a man of
industry, energy, fidelity to duty and right principles can win in the battle of
life despite obstacles, and his career could be studied with profit by the youth
whose future course is yet to be determined.
Charles H. Bradshaw was born at Urbana, Illinois, in 1858. At the
age of two years his parents moved to Decatur, that state, where they re-
mained until he was about twelve years old. From that time until he was
twenty-one he lived in Mattoon, Illinois. He received a good education, and
after leaving school went to Indianapolis, Indiana, where he engaged suc-
cessfully in the undertaking business for about three years. About 1887 he
came to Lafayette and engaged in the same line of business. In 1899 he and
592 PAST AND PRESENT
Louis Schlesselman formed a partnership in the undertaking business, con-
ducting an establisliment of their own. which proved to be a fortunate under-
taking owing to their knowledge of the business and their considerate treat-
ment of customers. About 1907 they also established the Lafayette Granite
Company, making monuments and similar work. This, too, was a success
from the first, and the firm is still conducting both lines of business, having
become well established in each of them, their trade extending to all parts of
the county.
In 1890, Mr. Bradshaw was married to Amelia Kries. of Lafayette,
daughter of George M. Kries, for many years a prominent citizen of Lafay-
ette, but now deceased. This union has been blessed by the birth of two
children, Charles K. and Rhe K. The Bradshaw home is a pleasant one and
is frequently the gathering place for the many friends of the family.
In his fraternal relations, Mr. Bradshaw is past worshipful master of Tip-
pecanoe Lodge, No. 492, Free and Accepted Masons ; also past exalted ruler of
Lodge No. 143, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks; he is also past noble
grand of Friendship Lodge, No. 22, Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He
takes a great interest in lodge work, and has become well known through the
several orders with which he is identified. Being prominent in local political
affairs, he was a member of the city council of Lafayette for several years,
during which time he looked carefully after the interests of the city and won
the hearty approval of his constituents. He is a Republican, especially in
national politics, but in local affairs he often votes for the man whom he
deems most qualified for the office sought, regardless of political affiliations.
He has never sought political office, the office of city councilman coming
unsought. Personally, Mr. Bradshaw is of pleasing address, sociable and
friendly, thereby winning friends easily.
ROBERT W. SAMPLE.
The gemlcman whose name appears at the head of this biographical
re\-iew needs no introduction to the people of Tippecanoe county since his
long and active life has been spent here, a life devoted not only to the fostering
of his own interests but also one given in a measure to the development of
the community at large. From early envirc^nments none too favorable he
has directed his efforts in successful channels until he is now president of one
of the best known banking houses in tJiis part of the state, the Fir.st National.
^Bl^^^r^w^-,^^^
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 593
Robert \\'. Sample was born in tbe city of Lafayette in 1833. He was
one of seven children born to Henry T. and Sarah (Sumwalt) Sample, his
parents having been among the pioneer settlers of Lafayetet and well kiiowm
here in an early day. Robert W. Sample was reared in his native city, at-
tended the local schools during the winter months and worked in his father's
tannery in the summer. After finishing his common school studies, he went
to Cincinnati. Ohio, and attended business college, after which he returned to
his native city and became associated with his father and brother John in
the tannery and packing house plants. They also owned a farm in Benton
county. Their tannery did a very extensive business for those days.
In 1862, when the First National Bank was organized in Lafayette, Mr.
Sample became a director, and in 1890 became president of the concern, still
holding that important and responsible position. Besides his banking inter-
ests he owns two large farms in this county.
Air. Sample's domestic life began in 1855 when he married Elizabeth
Anderson, born in Waverly, Ohio. After spending a few years in Perryville,
Indiana, her parents brought her to Wea Plains, Tippecanoe county, while she
was yet a small child. Like his father and mother, Robert W. Sample and
wife have enjoyed a long and happy married life, having lived to celebrate
their golden wedding in 1905, a remarkable coincidence for two generations —
father and son to celebrate so many wedding anniversaries. This union was
blessed by se\'en children, two of whom died in infancy. One daughter mar-
ried John Ewry, both husband and wife now deceased ; they left one daughter,
Elizabeth Ewry, who makes her home with Mr. and Mrs. Sample. The other
children are, Candace, wife of Doctor Burt ; Anna, wife of Ashley Johnson ;
John G. is teller in the First National Bank, and Richard B. is president of
the Lafayette Savings Bank.
In their church connections, Mr. and ]\Irs. Sample are members of Trinity
Methodist Episcopal church, of Lafayette. The Sample home is a pleasant
one where the many friends of the family often gather, never failing to find
old-time hospitality and good cheer prevailing there.
SCHUYLER A. TOWSLEY.
xne Lafayette family of this name originated in New York. Alonzo
Towsley was a business man of prominence in Seneca county for many years,
being extensivelv engaged in getting out and marketing stone, and emplov-
^38)
594 P-^ST AND PRESENT
ing the year around from twenty-five to one hundred men. He married Laura
McLean, by whom he had four sons. Schuyler A. Towsley. the youngest of
these, was born at Waterloo, New York, in 1847, and when eighteen years
old had charge of a boat on the Erie canal, delivering" stone to various places.
About 1870, his father met with heavy losses in business, which compelled
him to discontinue operations. Deciding to come West, Mr. Towsley located
at Detroit, working in a foundry as a machinist and for the Twin Brother
Yeast Company. Subsequently he became a brakeman on the Michigan
Central railroad between Detroit and Jackson, Michigan. Afterward he went
to Chicago and helped establish the Laflin Yeast Company for Steel & Price,
taking charge later of their perfumery and extract department. It was an
extensive business and he had under his direction a corps of sixty employes.
His health failing, he secured a position as conductor on an Ogden avenue
street railway, where he could get out-door exercise. In two or three months
became to Lafayette, and in 1880 entered the employment of Curtis E. Wells
as traveling salesman in the queensware and glassware line. He retained
this position for nearly two years and accepted a similar position with Holl-
weg & Reese of Indianapolis. After remaining with them for twelve years
he bought a third interest in a yeast business at Chicago, but it proved un-
successful and he returned to Hollweg & Reese. He remained with them
two and a half years and then came to Lafayette to take charge of the Tows-
ley Yeast Company, which he had organized a year previous. In a short
time, however, he sold his interest and traveled for a while for James Dufify,
wholesale confectioner. In the fall of 1887 he started in business in West
Lafayette with a small bakery. His stock consisted of sandwiches, con-
fectionery and various sweetmeats, catering especially to the student trade.
At that time there were only about six hundred students in
the university, but by constant diligence and good management
he built up a business that yielded and still yields a fair profit.
He keeps a general line of students' supplies, a lunch counter,
dining room and billiard hall. That he is quite popular with the
students is shown by the large patronage he enjoys from that source and the
wide circle of friends found among them. He recently purchased property
on State street and during the summer of 1909 erected a two-story brick
building with Ijasement. The property also includes a residence adjoining, and
the whole is held at twenty thousand dollars. The restaurant and students'
supply store occupies the first floor of the new building, the second floor being
devoted to the l)illiard parlor, while the basement has been fitted up with
an up-to-date bowling alley.
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 595
In 1864 Mr. Towsley enlisted in the Third New York Light Artillery,
with which he served until the close of the war. His enlistment was under
the name of Richard Towsley, that being the name he went by at that time.
He was in the last battle of the war at Kingston. He keeps as a precious
heirloom the old saddle bags and large pistols that his father carried while a
member of the New York militia.
In 1878 Mr. Towsley married x\bbie Smith, a native of the same town
in New York where he himself was born. They have had three children,
Charles S., Clara C. and Ida Belle. In the spring of 1905 Charles and Clara
were both taken away by death, within five weeks of each other, the first being
aged fourteen years and six months and the other twelve and a half years.
Ida Belle remains at home attending the high school. The family are mem-
bers of the Trinity Methodist church. Mr. Towsley is a member of the
Masonic order, having taken the degrees of the Royal Arch chapter. He
belongs also to the Knights of Pythias and the National Union.
GEORGE J. PFROMMER.
He whose name heads this biographical notice is the son of George
Pfrommer, a native of Germany, born in Wurttemberg in 1826. He emi-
grated to America and came to Lafayette in 1846. coming by way of the
Erie canal from Fort Wayne. Until about 1854 he was employed at var-
ious occupations. He was married in June, 1854, to Mary Mohrenweg. of
Wurttemberg, who had come to this country a few years later than Mr.
Pfrommer. Soon after their marriage he went to farming near the three-
mile switch, two and a half miles south of Lafayette. He purchased forty
acres of land, to which later he added more. On that farm his children were
born. They were the parents of eight children, as follows : ]\Iary. who
married Peter Levandowski and lives in Lafayette : Kate, who married
Herman Kreuch, and she resides in Peoria, Illinois, he having died in 1900;
Michael is engaged in the grocery business on South Fourth street, Lafav-
ette; Maggie died, aged twelve years ; George J. was the next in order of birth
of the eight children ; Dora married Joseph Eisele and lives in Chicago, where
her husband is employed as a railway engineer ; John and Fred were twins ;
the last named died aged four years and John died in 1900, aged thirt}--
four years. He was married and left one daughter.
George J. Pfrommer was born October 17, 1862, and was reared on a
596 PAST AND PRESENT
farm until aged eighteen years. He had the advantages of the German Luth-
eran schools, and \vhen eighteen years of age began to work at the tile mill
as its foreman and remained in charge for six years. This plant he had
assisted in building and establishing the business. After this business experi-
ence. ^Ir. Pfrommer was employed in the Lafayette Car Works and con-
tinued there until 1891. when he engaged in the grocery business, which he
followed one year, and then began contracting and building, and still follows
this line of work. Li this he has been signally successful and does excellent
work as a builder.
Politically, Mr. Pfrommer is a Democrat, believing that this political
organization best represents the interests of the masses of American citizens.
From 1896 to 1902 he was a member of the Lafayette city council. He is
a member of the German Lutheran church and served as its trustee since
1906.
yir. Pfrommer was married in 1886 to Pauline ^Nleyer. a native of Baden,
who came to this country in 1883. This union has been blessed by three
children, George W., John R. and Lillian M.
Mr. Pfrommer has ever been an industrious A\orker and an intelligent
citizen of Tippecanoe county. In size he is above the average, is strong and
robust, genial in his manners, yet quite positive and outspoken in his opinions.
He is the owner of a handsome home and other valuable property in Lafay-
ette, in which city he has the esteem of a large circle of friends and admirers.
He is possessed of a frank, friendly disposition, which makes him one of the
city's popular men who sees the practical side of life.
MORRIS WIXFIELD PHILLIPS.
It is a privilege to pass an hour with "Win" Phillips, the journalist,
lecturer, historiographer, student of Indian traditions, and especial champion
of the "American Kid." Everybody around Lafayette knows him, and to
know him is to like him, for he is geniality personified, and never spoke a
word to hurt the feelings of the most sensitive. ^Ir. Phillips has had his
full share of the ups and downs of life, has known the hard side of the
couch and the pinchings of hard times, as well as the rays of sunshine which
break in to relieve the wayfarer as he travels down life's way. But mis-
fortune has not soured or prosperity spoiled this genial child of nature, who
is devoting his mature years and untiring energy to the task of rescuing
"TIPPECAXOE COUNTY, IX D. 597
from oblivion the traditions of a race whose history constitutes at once the
tragedy and romance of our history. Mr. PhiUips is of Ohio origin, being
born at Dayton, February 15, 1854. His parents removed to IndianapoHs
when he was quite young and there he spent his childhood as well as the
years of his young manhood. In 1869 he served as a page in the house of
representatives, and afterwards resumed his interrupted attendance at school
and had completed arrangements for a college career, when one of those minor
incidents which often influence men's careers completely diverted the whole
trend of his existence. He had become acquainted with the celebrated George
C. Harding, the natural-born editor and newspaper genius, par excellence,
whose brilliant scintillations in the various publications at Indianapolis had
delighted a generation of Indiana admirers. Mr. Phillips had caught the
fancy of this remarkable man, perhaps because of his accommodating dis-
position in "catching bait" for fishing excursions and skill in finding the most
promising "poles." The great editor thought so much of the bright and com-
panionable boy that he nicknamed him "Bullfrog Win," and many were the
happy outings they had at Broad Ripple and other points along WHiite river
and other fishing streams of the state. Without much persuading Mr.
Phillips was indviced to join ^Ir. Harding in the newspaper field, and he
remained with him for several years while he was publishing the Herald.
Later, when Col. William R. Holloway began the publication of the Daily
Times, Mr. Phillips joined the reportorial staff and continued with that
paper until it was absorbed by the Journal. It was in 1889 that Mr. Phillips
decided to become a resident of Lafayette, where he spent several years in
miscellaneous employment. When Hon. William S. Haggard began the
publication of a morning daily, in 1893, Mr. Phillips was assigned a position
in the reportorial department and remained with the paper until its suspen-
sion. Five years with the Lafayette Courier, and a subsequent engagement
with the Call, brought him to the year 1903. when he accepted a position
with the JMorning Journal.
Aside from his regular newspaper work. Mr. Phillips has done consider-
able miscellaneous writing as a contributor to the Indianapolis Star and
eastern magazines. From an early period he was enamored of the subject
of Indian life and traditions and by persistent study and research has become
an authority on the aborigines of the Wabash valley. In 1906, while report-
ing memorial exercises at "The Battle Ground," he was so impressed with
the obvious historical inaccuracies that he entered upon a study of the Xiirth-
west Territory, with a view to producing a more reliable account of the
stirrinsf times incident t-i the erirlv settlement and furmative i)eri(ul of Indiana.
598 PAST AND PRESENT
Especial attention was devoted to the campaigns of Gen. W'illiam Henry-
Harrison, culminating- in the famous and decisive battle of Tippecanoe. His
articles in the Indianapolis Star concerning this epoch-making event not only
attracted widespread attention, but were the means of bringing to him a lot
of valuable data and original papers never before published. One of the
most valuable of these was Judge Isaac Naylor's famous historical sketch of
the battle of Tippecanoe, in which he took part as sergeant in Captain Sig-
ger's company of riflemen. An autobiographical sketch prepared by Judge
Naylor, which was full of interesting details of his adventurous life, was sent
by Mr. Phillips to the Indiana Quarterly Magazine of History, a publication
to which he contributes occasionally. The outcome of his studies, enthusiastic
tours of the state in search of relics and descendants of the early pioneers,
is a lecture on the general subject with especial reference to Harrison's cam-
paigns against Tecumseh, which he has delivered frequently to delighted aud-
iences. His admiration for the children of the pioneers and his conviction
that the boy has not had a fair deal in history caused Mr. Phillips to dedicate
the "American Kid," and both the title and contents have proved a hit with
the rising generation. He loves "the kids" and they in turn love him, with
the result that Mr. Phillips is regarded as the most successful of all lecturers
to boys. All his lectures are illustrated with hand-painted views of Indian
life, obtained from the United States department devoted to such subjects.
His data and pictures are historically correct and the whole embodies much
information of absorbing interest to the student of our aboriginal history.
Features of the lecture are lantern-slides of many valuable paintings and
historical documents, among them l:eing several productions of John Winter,
the famous painter of early Indian life, and other subjects of the pioneer
period. ^Ir. Phillips is the recognized authority on the battle of Tippecanoe,
of which he has exhumed many curious relics, such as tomahawks, a petrified
ear of corn, from the old site of Prophetstown, and other things unearthed
at Fort Ouiatenon, including a copy of a drawing of the battle, made by a
soldier who participated in the engagement. :\Ir. Phillips also has lectures on
Yellowstone park, Yosemite valley and the Grand canyon of the Colorado,
with lantern-slides colored true to nature.
WILLT.\^I .\LFRED LOFL.WD. M. D.
To achieve an eminent standing in as exacting a calling as the medical
profession recjuires something more than mediocre talents, a persistency of
purpose, a fidelity to duty and the happy faculty of winning and retaining
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 599
the confidence and good will of all classes. These qualifications the gentle-
man whose life record is briefly outlined in the following paragraphs seems
to possess, for he has, unaided, gradually overcome all obstacles until he
stands in the front rank of the medical profession in Tippecanoe county, a
locality widely known for the high order of its professional talent.
Dr. William Alfred Lofland was born near Romney, Tippecanoe county,
February 26, 1864, the son of John S. and Nancy A. (McMillin) Lofland,
the former a native of Crawfordsville, Indiana. John S. Lofland came to
the southern part of this county in his boyhood, and after attending the Sugar
Grove Academy in that neighborhood, while working during the summer
seasons, he acquired sufficient education to enable him to begin teaching,
which he followed for some time. But he abandoned this for farming after
his marriage, continuing the latter \ocaticn until within a few years prior
to his death, in December. 1907. He was a successful farmer and stock
raiser. Nancy A. ]\IcMillin was born in Tippecanoe county, November 7,
1840, the daughter of the late John K. McMillin, one of the former county
commissioners and a well known man throughout the county. He was prom-
inent in church work, also socially, and took an abiding interest in the public
affairs of the county. He was an extensive stock dealer, a shrewd tradesman,
but a very religious man, a strict observer of the Sabbath.
William A. Lofland grew to maturity on the old home farm where he
assisted with the work about the place during the summer months, thereby
securing a sound body which has meant much to him in his subsequent career.
He attended the neighboring public schools in his boyhood, then took a
course in DePauw University, finishing a special course preparatory to taking
up the study of medicine which had long been a dominating passion with him.
While in the university he read medicine in the office of Dr. G. C. Smythe,
who was then considered a very advanced surgeon, ahead of his time in fact.
Doctor Lofland often assisted him in delicate operations, and the skill thus
acquired early in life has greatly aided him during his professional career ever
since. From the university at Greencastle, Doctor Lofland went to Chicago
and entered Rush Medical College, from which institution he was graduated
Fel)ruary 19, 1889, having made an excellent record there. In March of that
year he went to Linden, Montgomery county, and began the practice of
medicine, soon having a fair practice. In October. 1901, he went to Chicago
and took a post-graduate course and then located in Lafayette, where he has
since practiced, having now an extensive patronage both as physician and
surgeon, meeting with remarkable success.
Doctor Lofland was married on Xovember 2t,. 1802. to Susnnna Miller.
600 PAST AND PRESENT
the accomplished daughter of the late Absalom M. ^^liller. who was county
commissioner at one time, also held other public offices. He was a large land
owner, prominent in the Friends church, a man of influence, widely and
favorably known. To Doctor and Mrs. Lofland two children have been born,
a son, Edgar Miller Lofland, born November i8, 1899, who died December
12, 1908. Their daughter, Evelyn, was born June 24, 1903.
In his fraternal relations the Doctor belongs to Tippecanoe Lodge, Xo.
123, Free and Accepted Masons. He and his estimable wife are held in high
favor socially in Lafayette, and their pleasant home is known as a place of
'hospitality.
\\TLLL\AI F. STILL\\-ELL.
This well-known Lafayette business man was born at Cincinnati, Ohio,
August 25, 1856, but was reared in Kentucky until 1870, when he came to
northwestern Lidiana, with which section he has e\er since been actively
identified. Entering DePauw University shortly after his arrival here, he
devoted several years to the college curriculum and was graduated in 1877.
Becoming a student in the law office of Hon. John R. Coffroth, in Lafayette,
he remained until his appointment in January, 1880, as assistant to the gen-
eral solicitor of the Cincinnati, Indianapolis & Lafayette Railroad Company
in charge of the legal business of that company of the lines from Crawfords-
ville to Michigan City and Indianapolis to Chicago. In 1885 he resigned to
take charge of the business of the Henry Taylor Lumber Company, with
which he has ever since been identified. In addition to his duties as president
of this company, he has for the past six years engaged in general contracting
which identified him with a large amount of important building. Included
in this were the Monon railroad shops at Lafayette, roundhouses and depots
at Indianapolis, Lafayette, and other cities for the same company, five build-
ings for the Indiana University, including the student building, library, re-
modeling Wiley Hall, the observatory and remodeling of the law building.
Another conspicuous achievement of Mr. Stillwell was the construction of the
stylish hotel at French Lick and a subsequent addition to the same structure.
He also put up the Soldiers' Memorial building at Dayton, Ohio, with a seat-
ing capacity of six thousand people, the material being all of stone. Other
work of a high order is represented in the court houses at Michigan City and
Kankakee, Illinois, and the nine-story steel structure for the Schoff estate
at Ft. Wayne. With Joshua Chew, his partner, he constructed the chemistry
^>^
'M^-eiJe^^^ 4^}iLa^^^^^
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 60I
building, new gymnasium and other structures at Purdue University. In
fact, his activities have extended from coast to coast and the work done under
his direction has been especially conspicuous for fine finishings found in the
buildings of many cities. His company achieved international fame as the
designer of the interior tinishing in the Broadway Chambers building, of
New York, of which a miniature was exhibited at the Paris Exposition and
a medal awarded for the American methods of interior decoration, which
was pronounced the finest in the world. The company now has branch lumber
yards at Danville, Illinois, Richmond, Indiana, and Stockwell, Indiana.
Mr. Stillwell married, October i6, 1881, Sallie B., only daughter of
Henry Taylor, after whose death, in 1885, he gave up his law practice to take
charge of the lumber business established by his father-in-law in 1852. j\lr.
Stillwell deserxes well oi the laboring men of Lafayette, whom he has em-
ployed in large numbers and paid good- wages. He has always been just to
men in his employ, and his extensive industry, accompanied by his building
operations, have been a source of wealth and prosperity to this community
and the chief factor in making happy homes. Governor Matthews appointed
Mr. Stillwell as a member of the Lafayette city police board, which was his
only political office. He is a member of Trinity Methodist Episcopal church
and of the Lincoln and Lafayette Clubs. He is also a Mason, having advanced
as far in that order as the [Mystic Shrine, and belongs to the college fraternity
Phi Delta Theta. Mr. Stillwell's wife died some years ago, leaving an only
daughter, Isabel T
CHRISTIAN MERTZ.
No foreign country has furnished so many worthv and progressive
citizens to the United States as Germany, and of the vast number of this
splendid citizenship who have come to our shores and been assimilated into
our civilization, resulting in incalculable good to both, is Christian Alertz,
one of Lafayette's prominent business men, whose birth occurred in Richels-
hausen, in the grand duchy of Baden, near Lake Constance, in the year 1834.
He was the second child in a family of eight, the son of Johann Matthias and
Katharine (Benzing) ^lertz, the former a native of Baden and the latter
of \\'urttemberg. Th.ey die;l in their native b.ntl. but Christian Mertz's grand-
father on the paternal side died in America, having come here in an early
day. Johann M. Mertz was the owner of a large estate. He was a manu-
facturer of chemicals and obtained possession of the Richelshausen estate,
602
PAST AND PRESENT
which was formerly owned by a nobleman. The manor house in which Chris-
tian Mertz was born is located in an ideal spot — the Swiss mountains, fortress
Hohentwiel and Lake Constance being in plain view from the same. At this
writing it is again in the possession of a baron. Christian Alertz was foui -
teen years old when the revolution swept over a part of Germany ; in this
his father took an active part, and it was during these years of early man-
hood that he imbibed the spirit of freedom and independence, the atmosphere
of Germany having been pervaded with such a spirit at that time. Mr.
Mertz always regretted that his education in advanced studies was neglected,
for to his father the larger affairs of state and county seemed all important
and young Christian was sent away from the Catholic country to be tutored
by a Protestant preacher who was a good man but no pedagogue. Not
having an inclination to serve the required term in the German army, young
yiertz decided to come to America in order to escape it, reaching our shores
when twenty years of age, his first voyage having been made on an old-
fashioned sailing-vessel and lasted forty days. He came to Indiana soon
after his arri\-al in the New World and for some time lived on a farm near
Fort Wayne with relatives. In May, 1855, he moved to Lafayette, making
the trip on an Erie-Wabash canal packet, drawn by a mule team. It was a
long ride, the canal being the principal manner of transportation in those
days. Mr. Mertz had made up his mind that if anyone had found a way to
succeed in this new country, he would be the second one. Although a stranger
in a foreign land, unacquainted with the language and customs, without
friends and only a limited capital, he had the innate qualities that win in the
face of all obstacles and he, in due time, had a good foothold, first securing
employment as a stone sawyer in Wagenlander's stone-yard. Then he became
porter in the Bramble House, of which Thomas Wood was proprietor. Later
he worked in the Lafayette House. These occupations, of course, were only
stepping-stones until he could save enough money to enable him to embark
in business for himself. From 1858 to 1861 he engaged in the retail grocery
business on Main street and thereby became independent of employers. He
l)rospered and in iH()}^ returned to the Fatherland on a visit. Upon his
return to .\merica he became a partner of Jacob Geyer, and together they
conducted what was known as the Peters mill, wliic'i was locate 1 on Wild
Cat creek. Business still came his w^ay and in 1871 Mr. Mertz made a
second trip to Germany and remained there until 1S74. On his return trip
to America he was shipwrecked, the trip lasting twenty days ; the ship was
destroyed but no lives were lost, the passengers having been rescued bv a
steamer carrying merchandise. Upon his arrival in Lafavette, Indiana, which
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 603
place he had long designated as his home, he became landlord of the Bramble
House, where years ago he had been doing menial chores. In the year 1876
he became a partner of Otto K. Weakly and they conducted the Lahr Hotel.
While under his able management the wide popularity of this house was
established and he and 'Sir. Weakly were associated in business for a period
of eighteen years.
During the early years of his hotel business, Mr. ^Nlertz purchased an
interest in the Lafayette Milling Company and also became a large stock-
holder in the Tippecanoe Coffee and Spice Mills, under the firm name of
Geiger-Tinney Company, now doing business in Indianapolis. He withdrew
from this firm after having been associated with the same for a period of
fourteen years. As president of the Citizens' Building and Loan Association,
Mr. Mertz assisted to make this worthy enterprise successful and popular,
retiring from the same in 1894, having been connected with the same for
a number of years.
JNIr. Mertz has done much to push forward the car of progress in Lafay-
ette, always interested in and assisting in furthering many enterprises and
being a liberal contributor to charitable enterprises and all movements, in fact,
having for their object the general good. Among the laudable things he has
done, it suffices here to mention only the fact that he was one of the very
first by his liberal subscription to the Children's Home to make it possible
for that institution to own its property.
At present Mr. Mertz devotes the major part of his time to the man-
agement of the Lafayette Milling Company, of which he has been president
for the past twenty-five years, diunng which time various changes have taken
place in the management of the same by reason of deaths, etc. This mill was
built in 1885 and it has a capacity of one hundred barrels per dav, being
equipped with all modern machinery and appliances for turning nut first-class
and high-grade flour, meal, bran, etc., for which a ready market is found,
the prestige of this mill having- long since become wide and permanent. A
large number of men are employed in its various departments.
The domestic chapter in the life of this prominent man of aft"airs dates
from his fifty-ninth year, after an exemplary bachelorhood, he having formed
a matrimonial alliance with Martha Mueller, who was born in Stuttgart,
Germany. She is a refined and affable lady, and to this union three interest-
ing children have lieen born, namely : Fritz. ]\L-irtha and Richard. The
Mertz home is an ideal one. and ^Ir. and INlrs, ]\Iertz are popular in all
circles. Politically, the former is a Repulilican. and a memlier of the Second
Presbvterian church.
604 PAST AXD PRESENT
WILLIAM KENT LUCAS.
In studying the life record of William Kent Lucas, there are found all
the elements that go to make the successful man of affairs — excellent ancestry,
an analytical mind, a fidelity to duty, an unswerving persistency and a genial
deportment — consequently as the general agent of the IMonon railroad, with
headquarters at Lafayette, Indiana, he has won a commendable position in
the railroad world, in which he is widely known. His birth occurred at
Williamsport, Warren county, this state. January 13, 1843. ^^'^^ son of a well-
known civil engineer, Col. E. F. Lucas, the popular superintendent of the old
Wabash and Erie Canal, which position he held for many years, during which
time he was much sought after owing to his influence in high commercial
circles. AMien this canal was taken over by the state. Colonel Lucas was one
of three commissioners appointed to manage it, his duties being that of super-
intendent and overseer, especially regarding its construction to Evansville.
He was influential with the railroads and attended to a great deal of busi-
ness for others. Colonel Lucas was born in Washington county, Pennsyl-
vania, February 22, 1804, and having moved to Indiana in his youth he was
educated in the Indiana State University at Bloomington, and, deciding upon
a career as civil engineer, he became one of the first in the United States, also
a consulting engineer. He was at one time a colonel in the state militia.
\\'illiam K. Lucas, of this review, has in his possession an old leather-covered
trunk full of papers, left by his father, containing documents relating to the
canal and many letters asking the Colonel's influence in behalf of the writers.
In 1857 the Wabash railroad sent Colonel Lucas to Lafayette to purchase
one hundred and sixty acres of land on which to locate their shops, but it is
said that local property owners refused to sell land for that purpose, not want-
ing the shops to come here. At Ft. \\'ayne the land desired was donated.
Colonel Lucas's death occurred in 1871 while he was engaged in locating the
Chicago & Eastern Illinois railroad.
William Kent Lucas grew up on a farm on the state line, remaining
there and assisting with the various duties of the same from aljnut 1849 to
1865. In the latter year he went to Keokuk, Iowa, in the employ of the
Wabash railroad. In 1866 Senator Thomas A, Hendricks procured for him
an appointment in the railway mail service, known as route agent, his "run"
being on the Wabash railroad, between Lafayette, Indiana, and Toledo, Ohio,
he Ijeing chief clerk on the route, which position he very creditalily filled.
In 1869 he returned to Keokuk, being eniplnyetl in the offices of the Wabash
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 605
railroad. In 1876 Mr. Lucas was appointed agent of the Rock Island rail-
road, at Keokuk, which position he held for about seven years. So faithful
had his services been that in 1883 he was promoted to the agency for that
road at Des Moines, Iowa. Remaining there until 1899, he resigned that
position and accepted an offer made by the Monon railroad as general agent
at Lafayette, Indiana, which position he is faithfully filling at this writing.
Mr. Lucas was united in marriage, September 19, 1872, with Sarah
Shontz, a native of Harmony, Butler county, Pennsylvania. She was a rep-
resentative of an old and influential family, having been a cousin of the
famous Theodore P. Shontz, one of the builders of the Panama canal. After
more than twenty-six years of mutually happy wedded life, Mrs. Lucas passed
to her rest.
Mr. Lucas is conspicuous not only for his faithfulness to his duty, but
also for his obliging disposition and his willingness to do some kind service
for others. He is regarded by the officials of the Monon as one of their
most faithful and trusted employes, and much credit is due him for the large
business done by this road in Lafayette. He and his sister maintain a very
neat and cozy home where their many friends are always welcome.
JOHX E. CHAAIBERLIN.
A representative citizen of Lafayette and proprietor of the Chamocrlin
Creamery and ice cream business, the largest enterprise of the kind in north-
ern Indiana and among the largest in the West, the subject of this review
merits consideration among those who have contributed to the growth of the
city and given it an honorable reputation as an important and commercial
center. It is with no little satisfaction, therefore, that the following brief
outline of his career and modest tribute to his worth is presented. John E.
Chamberlin has been a lifelong resident of Lafayette and since his young
manhood vitally interested in the city's material advancement and business
prosperity. His father, David J. Chamberlin, was born June 26, 1826, in
Gettysburg, Adams county. Pennsylvania, and in the spring of 1849. shortly
after his marriage with Elizabeth Naoma Biggs, moved to Lafayette, Indiana,
where he soon became a member of the firm of J. Shideler & Company,
general merchants and grain dealers. Subsequently he engaged in marketing,
which proved successful, and still later, in partnership with his son, he
established a broom factory, which he operated with gratifying financial
6o6 PAST AND PRESENT
results for eleven years, when he disposed of the businc=b co devote hia entire
attention to the manufacture of butter and cheese, an enterprise established
in 1890 by the Lafayette Creamery Compan}' and purchased by Mr. Cham-
berlin in 1893. Under the name of D. J. Chamberlin & Son, the business grew
rapidly and, the better to meet the demands of the trade, the firm enlarged
its capacity from time to time, and in due time built up the largest estab-
lishment of its kind not only in Lafayette, but in the northern part of the
state. In connection with the making of butter and cheese and the handling
of milk, they also introduced the manufacture of ice cream, which, like the
other lines, proved successful from the beginning and increased to such an
extent as to render necessary, within a brief period, the enlargement of their
facilities and the adoption of new and improved methods and appliances. The
industry has grown steadily in magnitude and importance until, as already
indicated, it has become the largest of the kind in northern Indiana. The
creamery, which has been increased to more than double its former capacity,
is the largest in the state and one of the best known and most widely patron-
ized enterprises of the kind in the central west. Connected with the estab-
lishment is a fine farm of two hundred and forty acres, where are kept the
high-grade cows which produce much of the milk used in the creamery, and
the intention is to increase the herd as rapidly as circumstances will admit,
although at the present time recourse is had to other sources in order to
supply the growing demands of the trade. The plant now gives employment
to an average of seventeen hands and the present yearly output is something
in excess of thirty thousand pounds of butter and sixty-five thousand gallons
of ice cream, besides a large wholesale and retail milk business, the greater
part of which is used in the city, although shipments are frequently made to
other points. The plant now in use was purchased in 1906, at a cost of
twenty-five thousand dollars, since which, as stated above, its capacity has
been greatly enlarged, new and improved machinery installed until the factory
is niiw fully equipped with the largest modern appliances and complete in
all I if its ])arts. Although the business is still conducted under the original
firm name of D. J. Chamberlin & Son, the senior partner and founder. David
J. Chamberlin, died at his home in Lafayette, Novemlaer 17. 1904. since
which time the plant has been operated by his son, John E. Chamberlin,
through whose efforts and management it has Ijeen made what it is today,
one of the leading industrial enterprises of the city and one of the most suc-
cessful of the kind in the entire country.
David J. Chaml>erlin was a man of sound practical intelligence and
nn-ch nil re than orflinar\- executive capacity and every undertaking in which
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 607
he engaged appears to ha\e prospered. He was also public spirited in
matters pertaining to the impro\-enient of the city, al\va_vs manifested a lively
interest in the general welfare of the community and was the embodiment
of manly honor in all of his business and other relations. The large enter-
prise which he established, and with which his name is still associated, bears
witness to his ability, judgment and foresight, and its steady growth, under
the joint direction of himself and son during his lifetime, and under the
management of the latter since his decease, proves that it was well founded
and that his mantle has fallen upon a worthy successor. Elizabeth Naoma
Biggs, wife of David J. Chamberlin, was born near Emmettsburg, Frederick
county, Maryland, and departed this life in Lafayette, Indiana, June 26,
1902. at the advanced age of eighty-seven years. Her ancestors were among
the first white settlers in Virginia and during the early wars, between the
colonists and the Indians. se\-eral of the family were killed and others fell
into the hands of the savages, who held them prisoners until ransomed by
their relatives or friends. Later, some of her people became well-to-do
planters and slave holders, but prior to the Ci\'il v,-';r they liberated thc'r
slaves and moved to a state upon which the blight of involuntary human
servitude has not been fastened.
David J. and Elizabeth Naoma Chamberlin were the parents of but one
child, John E. Chamberlin, the subject of this sketch, whose birth occurred
in Lafayette, Indiana, on the 22d day of November, 1850. He was educated
in the city schools and while still young acquired, under the direction of
his father, practical knowledge of business and matured his plans for the
future. In due time he became his father's associate in the various lines of
enterprise already described and upon the latter's death succeeded to the
large establishment, which the two jointly built up, and is now sole proprietor
of the same: His career has been a large and useful one, and an evidence of
his acumen and reliability is afforded by the fact of his having steadily
enlarged the establishment with which he is identified and earned a reputa-
tion in business circles second to that of none of his contemporaries and above
the slightest suspicion of reproach or dishonor.
Mr. Chamberlin's domestic life dates from December 18, 1878, at wliich
time he was united in marriage with I\Iary E. Wilson, of Lafayette, daughter
of James R. Wilson, late of this city, the union resulting in the birth of se\-eral
children, of whom three sons survive, viz. : James D., John M. and \\"ilbur,
all intelligent young business men and connected with the enterprise of
which their father is proprietor. ]\Ir. Chamberlin afiRliates with the Repub-
lican party, but is no politician, having little time to devote to party affairs
6o8 PAST AND PRESENT
and no ambition in the way of public or official honors. This family, for
several generations, have been Methodists in their religious belief and the
subject subscribes to the doctrines of the same church, as do also his wife
and children. In his fraternal relations, ]Mr. Chamljerlin is an Odd Fellow,
and it is a matter worthy of note that when he and his sons joined the order,
a part of the ceremony was conducted by the same person who assisted at
the initiation of his father into the same lodge forty-five years before. He
is also a member of the Masonic fraternity.
As the result of his ability, energy, economy and judicious management,
Mr. Chamberlin has not only attained to a prominent place in the business
world, but has also achieved marked financial success, being the possessor
of an ample fortune and one of the solid and reliable men of his city. He
has ever been an advocate of all moral interests, and endeavored to realize
within himself the high ideals of manhood and citizenship, being straight-
forward, honorable and worthy of respect and standing for law and order,
in all the terms implied. Few men in Lafayette are as widely and favorably
known, none stand higher than does he in the confidence and esteem of the
public and in view of his active and eminently creditable career and the
influence he has always exercised on the right side of any moral question, it
is proper to class him with the representative men of his day and generation
in the community honored by his citizenship.
THOMAS WILLIAM BURT.
b^.-.i in a political and business sense Tliomas W. Burt, present postmaster
of the city of Lafayette, and one of the proprietors of the Lafavette ]Morning
Journal, is deserving of the high esteem in which he is held by all classes
owing to his public spirit, integrity and fidelity to duty. By dint of industry
and marked innate ability, he has forged to the front among his contemporaries
and made his influence felt throughout this portion of Indiana. He is popular
among the laboring classes and common people, because he lias bee nassiici-
ated from youth with the men who have had to strive for what thev have
secured of wealth and fame, and in their struggles he still takes a lively interest,
and while not disregarding the rights of the capitalist and those who have
inherited wealth, he can always be counted on as vindicating the cause of
that class of industrious citizens who seek to better their condition by manly
labor, be it in whatever calling that labor may be found employed,
Thomas W. Burt was born March 12, 1861, just one month before the
THOMAS \V. BL'RT
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 609
opening of the great Civil war. His father was Thomas Burt, Sr.. who sacri-
ficed his life on the altar of his country in the struggle to preserve the Union.
He was a native of Ohio — the state so famous for brave defenders of our
national flag in all wars. He volunteered soon after the first call for men
by President Lincoln, and for four long, trying years, he fought for the right,
as he was given to see the right, and when he had lived to see the new era
ushered in, his life had paid the price of hardship and exposure on the battle-
fields of the Southland, having answered the last roll-call and passed from
earth in 1865. Thomas W. Burt's mother was known in her maidenhood
as Mary Rogers, who was a native of Indiana, and who, for her second hus-
band, married Thomas Bryant.
In 1866 young Burt came to Lafayette, Indiana, where he was reared
to manhood. Here he received his education and has ever since remained
a loyal citizen of the place. When he was just entering his twelfth year, he
began learning the printer's trade, and in 1890 he became associated with
the Spring-Emerson Stationery Company, one of the oldest and best known
houses in that line of goods in the state. It was established as early as 1836
by John Rosser and has flourished for three-quarters of a century. In 1897
the company was, however, reorganized. Mr. Burt, who had mastered the
details of the business and had proven a most capable employe, was made a
partner in the firm, the name being changed to the Burt-Terry Stationery
Company. Frank and Charles Terry being the other interested parties. In
his new role, Mr. Burt was signally successful from the start, and won
friends and regular patrons by his own personality and the high grade of
goods which his judgment taught him was the best line to deal in. ^\"ith
natural business ability, aided by genial manners and rare soundness of
judgment, success was soon within his grasp. Later the firm became the well-
known Burt-Terry-Wilson Company, and in the year 1902 the company ab-
sorbed the -Daily Morning Journal, which is now known as the Burt-Haywood
Company, incorporated in 1902 at a capital of seventy-five thousan;l dol-
lars, and it is one of the largest of the kind in the state, employing one hun-
dred and tliivty to nne hundred .and fifty persons. The jilmt is e(|nippe 1 with
expensive in-ichinery of the latest designs. Mr. Burt is now nianiger of this
large enterprise, which would be a credit to any city. Many large jobs are
constantly turned out and the work is always satisfactory, for only high-grade
material is used and only skilled mechanics are employed by this fn-m. the
reputation of wliich is now far-reacliing.
In politics, ^Ir. Burt is a Republican and has lieen active in the affairs
of his partv for thirtv vears. in fact, a leader in local matters, his counsel
(39)
6lO PAST AND PRESENT
often being sought by his co-workers and local candidates. He very credit-
ably served one term as city clerk from 1894 to 1898 and on February 19.
1906, he was further honored b}' being appointed postmaster of Lafayette,
and he assumed charge of the office on March ist of the same year, and he is
now filling this important position with honor to himself and credit to the
community.
Fraternally Mr. Burt is a member of the Masonic order, including the
Scottish Rite at Indianapolis and the Commandery at Lafayette. He also
belongs to the Ancient Araliic Order of Nobles of the Mystic Shrine
and the Knights of Pythias and the Druids. He takes an abiding interest in
all of these orders and one would judge from his daily life among his fellow
men that he attempts to carry out their high precepts.
The Lafayette Journal, with which Mr. Burt is connected, is too well
known to the people of this locality to need commenting on. It wields a
po\yerful influence wherever it reaches in moulding public opinion and it
holds high rank with the clean, trenchant, wide-awake, modern journals of
the present day, ably managed in every department and a success from a
financial standpoint.
Thomas W. Burt was married on April 25, 1886, to Elizabeth F. Kich-
ler, a native of Lafayette, the daughter of Adam and Sarah Elizabeth Kich-
ler, a well known family of this city. Mr. and Mrs. Burt are the parents
of two children, Mary E., who was educated in Lafayette and Washington.
District of Columbia. Edgar H., now sixteen years of age (1909), is a high
school pupil.
CAPT. JOHN W. MITCHELL.
It is with no little gratification that the biographer in this connection
addresses himself to the task of placing on record the principal facts in the
career of the honored soldier and esteemed civilian whose name appears
abn\e. a man who distinguished himself on many bloody battlefields during
the dark days of our national history and who, since the close of that
conflict, has lilxired for the good of his fellows and filled worthily important
public trusts. John W. Mitchell, postmaster of the State Soldiers' Home,
at Lafayette, is a native of Burlington county. New Jersey, and was born in
historic old Bordentown, on the 19th day of February, 1844. His father
was William Mitchell, whose birth occurred at the same place, and his
miither. Imngiiie l'';u'num, alsn a native of New Tersev, was born and reared
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 6ll
in the town of Mt. Holly. These parents were married in the state of their
birth and there continued to reside until 1865, when they moved to Lafayette,
Indiana, where William Mitchell became a successful contractor and builder,
which vocation he followed until retiring from active life. He was a man
of good, practical intelligence and well balanced judgment and during his
residence in Lafayette he earned the reputation of a capable and thoroughly
reliable business man, and enjoyed to a marked degree the esteem and con-
fidence of the people of the city. He lived a long and useful life, which
terminated May 17, 1905, at the age of eighty-four years. His wife preceded
him to the grave on May iS, 1886. Their family consisted of seven children,
whose names are as follows : James H., ex-treasurer of Lafayette and by
occupation a contractor and builder; John W., of this sketch; Lucy, who
married Mahlon S. Conley, of Los Angeles, California; George E., a mer-
chant of that city; Mary, wife of Norris S. Shafifer, a railway conductor
living at Chicago; William, of Butte, Montana, a printer and newspaper
man, and Edward G., who follows mechanical pursuits in the city of
Lafayette.
John W. Mitchell spent his early life in his native town and received
a good education in the schools of the same. He remained with his parents
until eighteen years of age, when he responded to the President's call for
volunteers,- enlisting in June, 1862, in Company B, Twelfth Regiment New
Jersey \^olunteer Infantry, with which he shared the vicissitudes and fortunes
of war for a period of three years. His regiment formed a part of the
Second Army Corps almost from the time of reaching the front, taking part
in the various Virginia campaigns and pai'ticipating in the numerous battles
and skirmishes in which the Army of the Potomac was engaged. Captain
Mitchell received his first baptism of fire at Chancellorsville, where he was
wounded in the arm, though not so severely as to incapacitate him permanent-
ly for duty. During his first two years in the service he held the rank of
sergeant and at the expiration of that time was promoted to first lieutenant
of Company D, of which he afterwards became captain, continuing in the
latter capacity until his discharge. Captain Mitchell's term of service in-
cluded some of the most severe fighting of the war, as may be inferred from
the following engagements, in which he participated: Chancellorsville,
Gettysburg, Falling Waters. Auburn Mills, Bristow Station, Blackburn's
Ford. Kelly's Ford, Robinson's Tavern, Mine Run, Alsop's House, Po River,
Laurel Hill, Spottsylvania, Landrum House, Milford, North Anna (three
engagements), three battles of Peterslnirg. Sailor's Creek. High Bridge.
Farmville. Appomattox, besides a number of minor engagements and
6l2 PAST AND PRESENT
skirmishes, in all of which he bore his part as a brave and gallant soldier
and in not a few attracted the favorable attention of his superior officers.
It is doubtful if any survivor of the Civil war can produce a record of such
continuous service and, as far as known, there is today no living soldier who
took part in as great a number of battles and skirmishes as the foregoing
list. The Twelfth New Jersey Regiment entered the service one thousand
strong, but at the close of the struggle one hundred and seventy-seven had
been killed in battle, one hundred and one died of disease, four hundred and
ten were wounded, making a total loss of six hundred and eighty-eight,
a record of casualties such as few regiments can produce.
At the expiration of his term of enlistment, in 1865, Captain ^Mitchell
was honorably discharged, after which he came to Lafayette, Indiana, where
he rejoined his parents, who had moved to the city in the spring of that year.
Within a short time, he engaged in the grocery business, but a few months
later disposed of his stock and began contracting and building, being a prac-
tical mechanic and well fitted for the line of work to which he devoted his
attention for a number of years following. In September, 1907, he was
appointed postmaster of the Soldiers' Home branch of the Lafayette post-
ofifice and has since given his time wholly to the duties of the position, prov-
ing a capable and obliging official and adding honor to an institution of
which the people of Indiana feel deservedly proud.
Captain Mitchell was married March 23, 1876, to Hallie J. Zimmerman,
of Richmond, Indiana, daughter of William Zimmerman, of that city, three
children resulting from the union, viz. : Singleton R., a college professor
in New ^ilexico ; Nellie B., her father's efficient deputy in the postofifice, and
Norris S., who lives in El Paso, Texas. Mrs. Mitchell, a most excellent and
highly esteemed lady, of beautiful education and high ideals, departed this
life on the i8th day of October, 1905, at the age of fifty-six years.
The Captain is a Republican in politics and previous to his appointment
to the position he now holds, served as deputy city treasurer of Lafayette.
He is a member of the Improved Order of Red Men. the Order of Ben Hur,
and is a leading worker in the Grand Army of the Republic; also of the
L^nion Veteran Legion, in the first named of which he has taken the Pocahon-
tas and Havniaker's degrees.
WILLIAM VAUGHN STUART.
It is one of the beauties of our government that it acknowledges no
hereditary rank of title — no patent of nobility save that of nature's, leaving
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 613
every man to establish his own rank by becoming the artificer of his own
fortune. Places of honor or trust, rank and preferment thus happily placed
before every individual, to be striven for by all, but earned alone by perse-
verance and sterling worth, are almost always sure to be filled with deserving
men, or at least by those possessing the energy and talent essential to success
in contests where public position is the prize. William V. Stuart affords a
conspicuous example of the successful self-made American, who has shown
that he possesses the qualifications that fit him to discharge worthily the duties
that have been entrusted in him. A man of vigorous mentality and strong
moral fiber, he has achieved signal success in a calling in which but few rise
above mediocrity.
Mr. Stuart, one of Lafayette's best known attorneys, was born at Logans-
port, Indiana, November i, 1857, the son of William Z. and Sarah (Bene-
dict) Stuart, the former having been born in Dedham, Massachusetts, while
his father sojourned here, having been on a mission for the British govern-
ment, but he returned to Aberdeen, Scotland, with his parents. He ran away
from home when a mere youth, and after satisfying his desire of adventure
by circumnavigating the globe two or three times, finally came to America
about 1828. He attended Amherst College, from which he was graduated
in 1833. About 1836 he moved to Logansport, Indiana, and began there the
practice of law in a short time. He became eminent in his chosen profession,
and was at one time prosecuting attorney of Cass county. Taking an active
interest in political affairs, he was elected representative of his county and
very ably served his constituents in the state legislature. He was sent to the
constitutional convention in 185 1. He was elected judge of the supreme
court in October, 1852, the duties of which he faithfully discharged until
January, 1858, when he resigned to become the general attorney of what was
then the Toledo, Wabash & Western railroad, now known as the Wabash.
He twice received the nomination of his party for congress to run against
Schuyler Colfax, but went down in the general defeat of the Democratic
ticket, but he made a very spirited contest for the office. He continued the
successful practice of law until his death. May 7, 1876. He was one of the
best known and most influential men of his day and generation in northern
Indiana. A lawyer of more than ordinary ability, a judge of rare judicial
analysis and a public servant that had no equal, his integrity and affability
commended him most favorably to all classes.
Some of his sterling traits seem to have been inherited by his son, Wil-
liam V. Stuart, who was greatly assisted in his youth by his father whose
6l4 PAST AND PRESENT
guidance along the early legal road was of inestimable value. He was grad-
uated from the Williston Seminary at East Hampton. Massachusetts, in 1876,
and in 1S80 he was graduated from Amherst College, having made a very
commendable record in each.
After leaving the last-named institution, Mr. Stuart returned to Lafay-
ette and entered the law office of his brothers, Charles B. and Thomas Arthur
Stuart. In 1881 and 1882 he was a student at the Columbia Law School.
Returning to Lafayette, he went into partnership with his brother, Charles
B., the firm being known as C. B. & W. V. Stuart, continuing successfully
until in 1889 they formed a partnership known as the Stuart Brothers, con-
sisting of the three brothers mentioned in this paragraph. They continued
thus until in August, 1892, when the death of Thomas A. Stuart occurred
and Judge E. P. Hammond was taken into the firm, and it became known
as Stuart Brothers & Hammond. The firm was again changed in 1899, '"
which year the death of Charles B. Stuart occurred, and D. W. Simms was
admitted to the firm, known as Stuart, Hammond & Simms, which has re-
mained the style of the firm to the present day, and it is safe to say that no
stronger firm is to be found in this or adjoining counties. They have a
large and up-to-date law library and few cases of great importance are tried
in local courts without this firm being represented.
In May, 1887, William V. Stuart was elected mayor of Lafayette, the
duties of which important office he very faithfully discharged for a period
of two years, during the course of which many substantial improvements were
inaugurated and the interests of the public carefully conserved. In 1899, Mr.
Stuart was appointed a member of the board of trustees of Purdue University,
later elected president of the board, serving in that capacity until June, 1907.
Having the interests of this great institution at heart, he gave it his best
services.
June 17, 1896, ^^"illiam V, Stuart was married to ]\Iiss Geneve Reynolds,
the talented and cultured daughter of James M, Reynolds, formerly general
manager of the Monon railroad and a man prominent in railroad circles for
many years. The home of Mr. and Mrs. Stuart has been blessed by the
birth of one daughter, who answers to the name of Sophie Wolcott. The
date of her birth was October i, 1899.
Besides his individual law practice, which keeps him very busy, Mr.
Stuart is the manager of business interests of no small magnitude, and he
ranks deservedly high in business, legal and social circles of this county, a
worthy son of a worthy sire. Companionable and unassuming, public-spirited
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 615
and progressive in all that the term implies, he occupies a position of influ-
ence and honor in a community noted for the high order of its citizenship.
GEORGE WINTER.
oeorge Winter was born at Port Sea, England, in 1810, of a talented
and cultured family and the youngest of fourteen children. The foundations
for his subsequent career as a noted artist were laid under favorable circum-
stances, for he was brought up amid the most propitious environment — an
art atmosphere — and his genius was fostered and encouraged. After a pre-
liminary course of private instruction, he went to London, entered the Royal
Academy, and there lived and worked with artists for four years, making
rapid headway in his chosen calling. About 1830, when twenty years of age,
he came to New York city, and after a residence of seven years in the
metropolis started for the middle West, landing at Logansport, Indiana. As
he once expressed it, he was lured to Indiana in order to be present at the
councils of Col. A. C. Pepper, of the village of Kuwau-Nay, in regard to the
Pottawatomie emigfation west of the Mississippi. He had an artist's inter-
est in the red men of the West, and many of his famous paintings are of
Pottawatomie and Miami chiefs. In 1837, at the request of her family, Mr.
Winter visited Frances Slocum at her home in Deaf Man's Village, near
Peru, Indiana, and made a portrait of her. She was famous for having
been stolen by Indians from her white parents in Pennsylvania when only
three years of age, and she lived all her subsequent life with the Indians as
one of them. She revealed her identity to Col. G. W. Ewing, of Fort Wayne,
when she was past middle life and thought to be on her death bed. While
she recovered and lived many years afterward, she refused to leave her
Indian friends and take up her residence with her own relatives.
In 1840 Mr. Winter married Mary Squier, of New Carlisle, Ohio. She
was born at Dayton, that state, and was the daughter of Timothy and Rebecca
(Tucker) Squier, the former the son of the famous Revolutionary soldier,
Ellis Squier, who was born in Essex county. New Jersey, September 17,
1746, and was in the New Jersey militia, subject to call for special duty in the
Revolutionary Avar when needed for emergencies or to fill out a company
short of men. He died in Montgomery county, Ohio, in August, 1824. To'
George Winter and wife three children were born, namely: Annette, now
6l6 PAST AND PRESENT
the wife of Gordon Ball, a prominent resident of Lafayette; George W'inter,
Jr., the eldest of the family; and Agnes, who died in childhood.
It was about 1840 when Mr. Winter produced many of his best known
pictures, especially those depicting Indian life and the battlefield of Tippe-
canoe. He remained at Logansport until 1850, in which year he moved to
Lafayette, residing in the latter city until his death with the exception of
three years, from 1873 to 1876, which were spent in California. He died
suddenly in 1876 while seated in a public audience at an opera house, having
been seized with apoplexy. His widow survived him until August 11, 1899.
Besides a great number of oil paintings and works in water color and
ivory miniature, which are of both artistic and historical value, Mr. Winter
left some writings in connection with them that are very interesting from an
historical view. A more extended description of his work will be found in
this volume in the article dealing with local art. One of his paintings is of
himself when a young man. It shows the deep blue eyes, calm, clear, ex-
pressive, and the fine, clear-cut features of a face of a man evidently of poetic
temperament, surmounted by chestnut hair in curls and ringlets. In later
life he became stouter and more portly. As might be surmised, he was a man
who loved nature, and the Indians had a fascination for one of his poetic
temperament, and his interest in them was potent in shaping his career. He
has by his brush and pen rendered high service to historic Tippecanoe. He
was truly a great man, a man whom to know was to respect not only for his
marked talent, but also for his pleasing address and his exemplary life.
HENRY TAYLOR.
This formerly well-known citizen, long since deceased, is kindly remem-
bered by many of the older generation as one of Lafayette's progressive men.
He was born at Hamilton, Ohio, January 18, 1826, and resided in the place
of his nativity until he had completed his twenty-sixth year. He went through
the public schools in the usual way and attended Miami University at the same
time that Governor Morton was a member of the student body in that insti-
tution. Ever afterwards he and the famous War Governor were warm friends
and often met during "the days that tried men's souls." After leaving the
university Mr. Taylor studied law in the office of Thomas Milligan at Hamil-
ton, but the confinement and close application to books threatened his health
to such an extent that he abandoned his ambition to become a lawyer. Re-
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 617
moving to Lafayette he engaged in the kimber business, met with increasing
success from year to year until eventually the Henry Taylor Lumber Com-
pany was recognized as one of the important industries of Lafayette. The
business was greatly extended after his death by the energetic management
of his son-in-law, Mr. Stillwell. Mr. Taylor, aside from his private concerns,
always found time to take an active interest in public affairs or whatever
was calculated to benefit the city. In i860 he was appointed by Governor
Morton one of the trustees having in charge the establishment of Purdue
University, and was largely instrumental in having it located at its present
site. Lafayette owes him an unpayable debt of gratitude for his invaluable
services in this important matter. In 1870 Mr. Taylor was nominated on the
Republican ticket as a candidate for state senator, was elected and served until
1874.
In 1852, Mr. Taylor married Isabelle D. Sample, and their wedding trip
emphasizes the contrast between the transportation systems of that day and
this. The first stage of their journey from Lafayette to Indianapolis was
made in a coach and four, from there to the Ohio river at Madison by the
only railroad in the state at that time, and up the river to Cincinnati, their
objective point being Hamilton. Ohio. Mrs. Taylor was the daughter of
Henry T. and Sarah (Sumwalt) Sample, the latter a native of Baltimore,
Maryland. The father was born near Middletown, Ohio, in 1805, and came
to Lafayette from \\'inchester, Indiana, on a trading trip, just one week
after the city was first laid out. In the following year, 1826, he married Sarah
Sumwalt and came to Lafayette to live. He owned a tannery, a pork and
beef packing establishment and a large stock farm in Benton county. He
became prosperous and was noted as a man of influence and public spirit. His
only living children are Mrs. Taylor, Mrs. David McBride and Robert W.
Sample. Henry Taylor and his wife were warm personal friends of Governor
Morton and whenever he visited Lafayette he was a welcome guest at their
hospitable abode.
In the early part of 1884 Mr. Taylor completed the construction of a
beautiful residence standing on high ground surn untied liv well-kept h'viis
and commanding a wide view over a wide area. Under the guidance of IMrs.
Taylor, and directed by her good taste, this home was handsomely furnished
and possessed all the conveniences of a fashionable dwelling. It was such a
place as one would pick out as a retreat for his latter days, but alas for the
vanity of human wishes, scarcely six months had elapsed when the designer
and builder was in his grave. For more than thirtv-two vears Henrv Tavlor
6l8 PAST AND PRESENT
had been at the head of a liousehold in which lie found his chief dehght. Of
his two children, one died in infancy and the other, Salhe B. Taylor, married
William F. Stilhvell. In 1898, she too was called to follow her father, leav-
ing an only daughter, Isabel F. Stillwell, who resides with her father and
grandmother at the Taylor homestead.
HON. ROBERT P. DAVIDSON.
Standing out distinctly as one of the central figures of the judiciary of
Indiana in his day and generation is the name of Hon. Robert P. Davidson.
Prominent in legal circles and equally so in public matters beyond the con-
fines of his own jurisdiction, with a brilliant reputation in one of the most
exacting of professions that won him a name for distinguished service second
to that of none of his contemporaries, there was long no more prominent
or honored man in the locality which he dignified with his citizenship. Wear-
ing the judicial ermine with becoming dignity and bringing to every case
submitted to him a clearness of perception and power of analysis character-
istic of the learned jurist, his name and work for years was allied with the
legal institutions, public enterprises and political interests of the state in such
a way as to earn him recognition as one of the distinguished citizens of a
community noted for the high order of its talent. A high purpose and an
unconquerable will, vigorous mental powers, diligent study and devotion to
duty are some of the means by which he made himself eminently useful, and
every ambitious youth who fights the battle of life with the prospect of
ultimate success may peruse with profit the biography herewith presented.
Although the earthly career of this distinguished gentleman closed on
Wednesday evening, April 14, 1909, after an illness lasting from December
31, 1908, his influence still, pervades the lives of those with whom he asso-
ciated. He was the oldest member of the Tippecanoe county bar, a lone tree
in what was once a mighty forest of stalwarts ; eminent in the legal profes-
sion, a high type of American citizenship and a devoted Christian, whose
intelligence, friendship, integrity and general character won for him a circle
of friends described in number by the one word legion. In reviewing the
life-work- and character of so important a citizen as he who but yesterday
walked and mingled with his fellowmen, performing every known duty,
guided only by the manly traits that men and women evervwhere call noble,
the biographer can not hope to give the reader more than a glimpse of this
busy man's well-spent career.
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 619
Judge Robert Parks Davidson was born in Nicholas county, Kentucky,
October 26, 1826, of Scotch ancestry on both the paternal and maternal
sides, his family being one of the highly respected of the pioneer settlers.
Thomas Davidson, the pioneer grandfather, was born in Pennsylvania, set-
tled in Kentucky in an early day and died there many years ago. He was
noted for his personal courage and high sense of honor. The maternal
grandfather, James Parks, Sr., emigrated from Pennsylvania about 1790
and located in Nicholas county, Kentucky, where he died May 6, 1836. His
family was of English origin, and numerous members of the same became
distinguished in various walks of life. James Parks, Sr., who was a promi-
nent merchant and trader in his community, represented his county in the
Kentucky legislature and he also served very creditably in the state senate,
having been contemporary with the Wicliffes and Marshalls. A loyal Presby-
terian, he served faithfully for a period of forty years as elder in the Asso-
ciate Reformed Presbyterian church.
Judah Davidson, father of Judge Davidson of this memoir, was the
fourth son of Thomas Davidson. He received such educational training as
the early schools afforded, and when he reached maturity he married Mary
(Steele) Davidson on December 11, 1825. She was the tenth child in the
family of James Parks, Sr., and wife, and to this union two sons were born,
of whom Robert P. was the oldest. When deceased was but two years of
age, the father died, leaving the two fatherless boys and the widowed mother
to battle on without the aid and counsel of a father and husband. The mother
was a woman of intelligence and genuine piety. The mother and her sons
went to the home of the former's parents, and the sons were given the op-
portunities offered by the common schools of those days. When fourteen
years of age Robert P. Davidson was placed in an academy, and at intervals
worked at farm labor, in the meantime preparing himself for college. He
accordingly entered the freshman class of Miami University, in May, 1845,
with the intention of preparing himself for the ministry, but changing to
Center College, Kentucky, in the winter of 1847-1848, he pursued his studies
there and was graduated from that institution in June, 1848, ranking among
the best of the large graduating class of that year, and in recognition of his
merits, this institution, three years later, conferred upon him the degree of
Master of Arts. After graduating he turned his attention to teaching for
a short time, then began the study of law, having abandoned the idea of
becoming a minister. He was licensed to practice in the courts in February,
1 85 1, and soon afterwards entered the law office of the late Judge Joseph C.
Suit, at Frankfort. Clinton county, this state, later forming a partnership
620 PAST AND PRESENT
with this noted jurist. He was also at one time associated with Hon. Joseph
Claybaugh. his brother-in-law. an ex-judge of the Clinton county circuit
court. Mr. Davidson became prosecuting attorney for Clinton county, and
he served as judge of the common pleas court in the fifties. In the midst
of all his various legal duties he found time to do considerable editorial
writing on the Franklin Argus, later known as the Crescent, which name
he gave the paper. He continued in the practice at Frankfort until Novem-
ber, 1863, when he moved to Lafayette, during the most exciting period of
the great Civil war. The rigid study of the law and his close application to
his chosen profession made him profound in thought and broad-minded in the
truest sense of the term. As a public speaker, while not a flowery orator, he
was a strong, logical speaker, his language being of that clear, concise and
forcible type that always had its weight with an audience, especially with
courts and jurymen, who recognized the fact that he had a wonderful legal
mind. In his personal bearing the Judge was of rather retiring disposition,
always a gentleman, possessed of true politeness, courteous and obliging, very
gentle mannered, true hearted and sympathetic, at all times and places. He
always had the best interests of his client at heart, and was firm in the pre-
sentation of his arguments in the court room. He remained a profound
student of law up to the time of his death. His briefs in cases taken to higher
courts were considered masterpieces.
His career in Lafayette was a series of triumphs, having in 1864 entered
the law office of \\'. D. Alace. but subsequently formed a partnership with
Hon. Richard P. DeHart. At one time he was a law partner of Capt. W.
De\\'itt Wallace and still later he was associated with his son, Joseph C.
Davidson, who is now practicing in Chicago. His next law partner was
Daniel E. Storms, ex-secretary of state, who now resides in Nevada. His
last partner was Allen Boulds, admitted to the firm in 1897. Thus it will
be seen that he was associated with numerous excellent attorneys during his
long practice. From time to time he aided many young men to solve difficult
legal problems and he has started them out on their careers as attorneys with
a good degree of assured success. His knowledge of law made him an author-
ity in manv intricate legal cases in Tippecanoe and other counties. The fol-
lowing, which appeared in an editorial of one of the newspapers of his home
citv the morning after his death, is an accurate summing up of his legal
ability :
"He possessed an analytical mind, and being so well read in law, he
scored every point the case would admit of. In court he was a fighter for
every inch of ground and was always respected by his opponents. He was
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 621
connected with some of the most important lawsuits filed in this and adjoin-
ing co.unties, and his advice was sought by other attorneys who well knew
the value of the legal lore he possessed."
Not alone in law did Judge Davidson become efficient, but as a political
worker in the ranks of the Democratic party he did valuable work. During
the Lincoln and Douglas presidential campaign, he was active in the interest
of his party, and had the honor of being one of the Douglas electors, and
four years later he was an elector for Abraham Lincoln for his second term.
He was what is styled in political history "a war Democrat" and bitterly
opposed the institution of human slavery. During our great civil strife,
Governor Morton appointed him draft commissioner. After the war had
ended Judge Davidson did not participate again in politics until he was
elected a representative to the legislature, serving in the sessions of 1871-1872.
In 1902 he was defeated for the state senatorship by Hon. William R. Wood.
He was never a radical partisan, believing that all parties tried to make plat-
forms for the good of the masses, hence he was charitable and never offen-
sive in his political declarations.
The true test of manhood may generally be found about the home
hearthstone, and in this phase of his interesting life Judge Davidson was
shown in his best light, his domestic relations being of the most harmonious
and happiest type. He formed a matrimonial alliance on May 15, 1849, with
Jennie S. Claybaugh, daughter of the late Rev. Joseph Claybaugh, D. D.,
who was for many years professor of theology at Oxford Seminary (Ohio).
This union was blessed by the birth of five sons and two daughters, five of
whom survive, namely: Joseph C, of Chicago; Mrs. Mary P. Russell, also
of Chicago; Margaret B., who is living in Lafayette; Horace C, of Aurora,
Illinois; and Dr. Edward C, of Lafayette. Robert P., Jr., died in 1889, and
James T. died in 1904. After a beautiful Christian life, Mrs. Davidson
closed her eyes on earthly scenes, January 26, 1908, a few months in ad-
vance of her husband, who really never fully recovered from the sad affliction
•caused from being separated from one who had traveled with him so many
years as a loving, faithful companion.
Concerning his religious faith, it can be said that he very naturally
found his church home within the fold of the Presbyterian church, as his
forefathers had all been of that faith. For almost a half century he was an
exemplary member and was long an elder of the First Presbyterian church
of Lafayette. He was a home man, and he was usually found at his fireside
when not at his office, for he affiliated with no clubs or secret societies. This
love of the quietude of home was perhaps responsible for his limited traveling.
622 PAST AND PRESENT
He also took a delight in looking after his farming interests, which were
extensive. He was always entertaining, a man of mnch universal knowledge
and a companionable conversationalist.
At his funeral, the members of the bar, who held him in the very highest
esteem, attended in a body. The Rev. A. C. V. Skinner, pastor of the First
Presbyterian church, conducted the services, paying a high tribute to the
departed dead. Friends came from long distances to pay their last respects
to the mortal remains of him who in his lifetime had befriended and mingled
with them as companions on the road of life. Thus, beneath a wealth of
beautiful garlands, surrounded by sorrowing old-time and younger friends,
the pallbearers bore the tabernacle that had held this worthy man's great soul
to its last resting- place in Spring\ille cenietery. where it sleeps the sleep of the
just.
At a meeting of the bar association, held April 24th, eulogies were pro-
nounced by leading members, and appropriate resolutions were passed and
spread upon the records of the superior and circuit courts.
JA^IES M. STINGLE.
Incumbent of the office of county assessor and holding worthy prestige
as a citizen, the subject of this sketch has been much in the public gaze and
merits more than passing notice among the representative men of the county
which has been his home since his birth. James I\I. Stingle was born near
Purdue University in Wabash township on the 28th day of August, 1862,
being a son of Levi and Emily ( Kellogg) Stingle, natives of Pennsylvania
and Ohio, respectively. Levi Stingle came to Tippecanoe county a number
of years ago and in due time became widely known as a successful farmer
and stockraiser; by industry and frugality, directed and controlled by sound
judgment and business ability of a high order, he accumulated a handsome
fortune and at the time of his death left a large estate, including the family
homestead in Wabash township and other valuable realty, besides personal
property of considerable amount. He was greatly esteemed throughout the
county, enjoyed the confidence of his fellowmen to a marked degree and in his
efiforts to promote his own interests was not unmindful of the interests and
welfare of others. He lived to the age of seventy-two and was called from
the scenes of his earthly labors and triumphs in 1899. his death being deeply
mourned and profoundly regretted by the people among whom he had spent
TIPPF.CANOE COUNTY, IND. 623
SO many years. Mrs. Stingle, who proved a worthy wife and helpmeet and
to whose judicious counsel her husband was indebted for no small part of
his success, departed this life in 1889, when sixty-two years of age. Levi
and Emily Stingle were the parents of seven children, three of whom died
in infancy or early childhood, the names of the surviving members of the
family being as follows: James M., subject of this sketch; Harry E., who
lives in California ; Eva A., wife of James A. Bell, of West Lafayette, and
Lillie E., who married Pogue Myers and lives in the city of Lafayette. Both
parents had been previously married and each had one child when they be-
came husband and wife.
James M. Stingle was reared amid the bracing airs and wholesome in-
fluence of rural life, and his early experience on the farm had much to do in
developing a strong, well-rounded character and directing his future course
of action. He was educated in the public schools and the Lafayette Com-
mercial College and, on leaving home to make his own way in the world,
engaged in the livery business at Lafayette, which he conducted with fair
success for a period of ten years. Disposing of his establishment at the ex-
piration of that time Mr. Stingle, in 1904, was appointed deputy county
assessor, the duties of which position he discharged in a very acceptable
manner, for one term, during which time he became so widely acquainted
throughout the county and made so many warm friends that when he an-
nounced his candidacy for the office held by his superior, his nomination was
a foregone conclusion. In the election which followed he defeated his com-
petitor by a majority of five hundred and ninety-five votes.
Mr. Stingle has proven a very efficient and obliging public servant. He
conducts his office in an able and straightforward business-like manner, exer-
cises sound discretion in the matter of values and is absolutely fair and im-
partial in his treatment of property holders, so that the public, irrespective
of political allignment. have the utmost confidence in his judgment and in-
tegrity. As indicated above, he is a Republican and an active worker for the
success of his party, especially in local afifairs, concerning which his opinions
and advice always carry weight and command respect. Mr. Stingle is con-
nected with several secret fraternal orders, including the Knights of Pythias
and Improved Order of Red Men, in the former of which he holds the title of
past chancellor. The local lodges to which he belongs are indebted to him
for much of the success they now enjoy.
Mr. Stingle's domestic life dates from March 9, 1885, at which time
he was united in marriage with Drusilla Belle Huffman, of Lafayette, and a
daughter of Noah and Elizabeth (Nagle) Huffman, the father a son of Rev.
624
PAST AXD PRESEXT
Jonathan Huffman, a pioneer of Tippecanoe county and one of the first
Methodist ministers in this part of the state. Mr. and Mrs. Stingle have
three children, namely : Robert, a student of Purdue University, Ethel and
Bernice, the former pursuing her studies in the high school of West Lafay-
ette, the latter a student of the lower grades. In religious belief Mr. Stingle
subscribes to the Baptist creed, his wife being a ^Methodist and a zealous
and useful member of the local church to which she belongs.
SAMUEL S. WASHBURX. M. D.
Dr. Samuel S. Washburn, who is now the longest in practice of any
physician, save possibly one, in Tippecanoe county, and still enjoying the
confidence of the populace in his present-day practice in the city of Lafayette,
was born September i, 1839, at Rushville, Lidiana. He is the son of Isaac
and IMariah (Bratton) Washburn. The father was born in Ohio and was
by trade a tanner and followed it until the ^lexican war came on. He then
enlisted in the army raised to put down that conflict and was promoted to
sergeant-major of the Second Kentucky Regiment of Infantry. He was
wounded at the battle of Buena Vista and died a pensioner, by reason of his
Mexican war service. After that war he located at Owensboro, Kentucky,
where he became the editor of a newspaper, continuing in that profession until
his death in December. 1876. He was the father of six children, as follows:
Nancy, Elihue, Robert R.. Sarah, Zarelda, and Samuel S. of this notice.
The mother of this family died in 1885: she was a devoted member of the
Presbyterian church, having united at the age of fifteen years. The sub-
ject's father, Isaac \\'ashburn, was of the Universalist faith. Politically,
he was a Democrat.
Doctor Washburn had the ad\antage of the public schools in Rush coun-
ty, Indiana, and later studied under a private tutor. He chose the science of
medicine as his profession, and studied under Dr. D. W. Stirman, of Owens-
boro, Kentucky, and entered the medical department of the University of
Louisville, Kentucky, from which most excellent institution he was graduated
in the month of ^March, 1861. He then saw the country was in need of men
to suppress the Rebellion which had opened in April of that year, and enlisted
as a member of the Sixteenth Regiment, Indiana \^olunteer Infantry, serving
until the autumn of 1863, when he was discharged by reason of disability, hav-
ing contracted typhoid pneumonia. During his entire army career he was on
JjfyhdAvU^^^^ v^^,
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 625
the medical staff and was assistant surgeon and hospital steward. After he
returned from the army, he located at Decatur, Illinois, where he practiced
medicine four years, then located at Dayton, Indiana, where he continued
seven years and built up an extensive medical practice in that section of the
country. In 1874 he came to the city of Lafayette, where he has ever since
practiced and is now the longest in practice of any physician in the place.
He is a member of the Tippecanoe County Medical Society, as well as a
member of the State and American Medical Associations. He reads the latest
medical works and is a subscriber to and benefits by the reading of the various
medical publications. By keeping fully abreast with the modern methods
in his profession, he is accounted an up-to-date physician and surgeon. He
has a large and successful practice, being the "family doctor" for many of
the leading families of the city and its environments.
Politically, the Doctor is a believer in the general principles of the
Democratic party. In 1889 he was a candidate for state representative, and
at a time when the county went a thousand majority Republican he was only
defeated by about four hundred votes.
In civic society relations, the Doctor is connected with Masonry, being
a past master of the Masonic lodge, having held that office four years, and
is always interested in all that pertains to this ancient and honorable frater-
nity. He is knowm as a bright Mason.
Coming to his domestic life, it may be said in this connection that he
was united in marriage November 22, 1864, to Lucy B. English, daughter
of James English and wife, of Mt. Auburn, Illinois. The issue by this union
was five children, as follows : Alva C, Savilla, Van Clifford, James H. and
Olivia Belle, all deceased, except the sons, A. C. and J. H. James H. is an
actuary for the Hartford Life Insurance Company, and resides at Hartford,
Connecticut : A. C, the Doctors other son, is actuary for the Mexico- Amer-
icana Life Insurance Company and resides in Mexico.
To have practiced in the homes of Tippecanoe county so long as Dr.
Washburn has, and met with success; to have seen service in his country's
war days ; to have been connected with county and municipal government and
advocated his political principles, against fearful odds, and reared a family,,
members of which are today holding places of trust and responsibility in
this and a foreign countr}-, is an indication that his career has been fraught
with more than ordinary success. In the city of Lafayette he has been coun-
cilman from the sixth ward for eighteen years and was president of the-
board of city commissioners four years.
(40)
626 PAST AND PRESENT
JUDGE CYRUS BALL.
An enumeration of the representative citizens of Tippecanoe county of
a former generation who won success and recognition for themselves and
at the same time conferred honor upon the community, would be decidedly
incomplete were there failure to make mention of Judge Cyrus Ball, who
long held worthy prestige in legal and political circles. He was always dis-
tinctively a man of affairs, who wielded a wide influence among those with
whom his lot was cast, ever having the affairs of his county at heart and
did what he could to aid in its development, then passed serenely on to his
eternal rest, leaving behind him a priceless heritage to his family and friends —
the record of a life well spent and a good name.
Judge Cyrus Ball, long a prominent citizen of Indiana, was born in
Lebanon, Warren county, Ohio, May 30, 1804, the youngest of a family of
six children, four brothers and two sisters. His early education was meager,
having attended schools of a primitive kind for three months during the
winter, his work on the farm depriving him of further time to devote to his
text-books. However, he spent a great deal of time reading history and
miscellaneous subjects, and while quite a young man was enabled to begin
teaching in one of the country schools. In 1825 he left the farm and read
law awhile, having at an early age decided to enter the legal profession, and
he was admitted to the bar in Ohio in 1826. He came west with his cousin,
Justice Harlan, in that year. In the spring of 1827 he went to Baltimore,
Marj-land, and bought a stock of merchandise and brought the same to
Lafayette, Indiana, and he and his brother started a general store here.
After two and one-half years, Cyrus assumed entire control of the business,
which had steadily grown from the first. In 1828 Cyrus Ball was admitted
to the bar in Indiana and the following year he was elected justice of the
peace, serving five years. In 1835 he was defeated for the ofifice by Mathias
Peterson, a Democrat. He then formed a partnership with James Hill and
Peter S. Jennings, embarking in the dry goods business. Mr. Hill died in
1837 and the firm became Ball & Jennings. The former sold out to the latter,
and, in connection with his brother, purchased the property at the northwest
corner of Third and Main streets, paying the sum of one hundred and fifty
dollars for the lot.
In 1832 Mr. Ball was married to Cornelia Smith, who died within three
years after their marriage. On May 8, 1838, he was married to Rebecca
Gordon, of Philadelphia; she was born in that city. May 16, 1816, and she
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 627
came to Lafayette in 1837. To this union five children were born, namely:
Gordon, Seneca, Eugene, Cornelia and Richard. Mrs. Ball was of a decided-
ly poetic nature, and she was always bright, cheerful and happy. She was
a woman of rare intellect, of fine judgment, having wonderful powers of tact
and discrimination. She penned many dainty gems of verse, some of them
manifestly from the depth of the heart, and displayed a wealth of poetic
genius.
When the Black Hawk war began Judge Ball and William Reynolds
went to the front, passing through Chicago, at that time an insignificant
little trading post. Upon their arrival there they were unable to buy enough
feed for their horses, there being practically no business of this nature there.
The Wabash & Erie canal made Judge Ball collector of tolls in 1840,
and in 1841 he was appointed cashier in the branch at Lafayette of the State
Bank of Indiana, retaining that position until the charter expired and the
bank went into liquidation. Business was carried on at the southwest corner
of Sixth and Main streets until the charter expired in 1859, at which time
Judge Ball purchased the lots and improvements, which are now the property
of his son, Gordon Ball.
Cyrus Ball was elected one of the three associate judges in 1840 for this
district, and he was soon regarded as a splendid jurist, fair and possessing
the highest integrity. He had a mind capable of the most careful judicial
analysis and he carefully weighed in the balance all problems submitted to
him and soon displayed a profound knowledge of jurisprudence, his decisions
seldom meeting with reversal at the hands of a higher tribunal.
When the Lafayette Artificial Gas Company was started. Judge Ball
became president and held considerable stock in the same, and its large suc-
cess was very largely due to his able management. With Albert S. White,
the Judge was chiefly instrumental in the construction of the railroad to
Indianapolis, many years ago, which is now a part of the Big Four system.
When he retired from the banking business. Judge Ball built an elegant
residence on South Ninth street where he lived until his death. June 30,
1893, having reached a ripe old age, full of honors and success. Although
it was dangerous to do so, he entertained the noted William Lloyd Garrison
and other well known abolitionists at his home. Mrs. Cyrus Ball joined her
distinguished husband in the silent land on January 16, 1900. Her son,
Seneca Ball, who became prominent in business and railroad circles, died De-
cember 19, 1907. Eugene Ball died in Vienna, while United States consul to
Budapest. Cornelia Ball died just as she had blossomed into womanhood.
Thus Gordon Ball, of Lafayette, is now the only living member of the family.
628 PAST AND PRESENT
Judge Ball was a man of unusual business ability, having been an or-
ganizer and a promoter, possessing the rare ability to foresee the outcome
of business transactions and he was regarded as a leader in business circles
for a half century. He died without a blemish on his character, there having
been manifest in his character the highest sense of honor and the strictest
integrity. In disposition he was kind, tender, yet firm, straightforward and
no man was more determined in the execution of his plans when once
he decided that he was right. Broad and liberal in his views, enterprising
and resourceful, he was a power in every enterprise he undertook. He took
the delight of a boy in innocent sports, and nothing delighted him more than
to romp with his children. His old age was cheered by frequent fishing trips
to the Kankakee, Wild Cat and the Wabash. His useful life ended as he
had lived it — without a shade to darken its passage into the great beyond. Tip-
pecanoe county will never know a more useful, grander character than he.
MAJOR WARREN R. KING, M. D.
The subject of this sketch, who is chief surgeon of the Soldiers' Home
and for many years recognized as one of the leading members of the med-
ical profession, is a native of Hamilton county, Indiana, born February 6,
1842. His parents, Benson and Esther (Robinson) King, natives of New
York, came west in an early day and settled about fourteen miles north of
Indianapolis, Indiana, where the father purchased land and in due time be-
came a prosperous agriculturist. He spent the remainder of his life on the
beautiful farm, which he improved, accumulated a comfortable competency
and died in August, 1845, l^is faithful companion departing this life within
six minutes after he ceased to breathe, both being interred in the same grave
at Eagle Village. Four children constituted the family of this worthy couple,
the oldest. Minor M., dying in Iowa in 1881 ; Dr. Warren R. was the second
son in order of birth; Mesdames Harriett Ellis and Martilla Sparks, the
third and fourth, respectively, reside in Connersville, this state. Being a
mere child when his parents died, young King was taken into the family of
Daniel Shortridge and wife, his uncle and aunt, to whom he attributes all the
success in life which he has attained. ^Ir. Shortridge was quite wealthy and,
becoming interested in the lad, decided to look after his training and educa-
tion and fit him for some useful calling. At the proper age, therefore, he
attended the Fairview Academy, and, having chosen medicine as the profes-
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 629
sion most suited to his tastes and inclinations, he subsequently began the
study of the same in the Iowa Medical College at Keokuk, where he com-
pleted their prescribed course.
Dr. Kino' prosecuted his professional studies under many disadvantages
and discouragements, superinduced by a somewhat disastrous military expe-
rience, in which he received a severe wound, which rendered him a cripple
for hfe. Entering the army in opposition to his uncle's wishes caused an
estrangement between the two, and when his relative ceased supplying the
necessary funds for his support, the young man was thrown upon his own
resources, which, by reason of his injury, were somewhat limited. Determin-
ing to finish his studies, however, he let nothing deter him from this accom-
plishment, but his poverty was such as to cause him great inconvenience and no
little suffering while prosecuting his collegiate course, being at one time
compelled to rent a miserably poor little room for one dollar per month and
sleeping on the floor with a soldier's blanket as his only bed and covering.
Despite unfavorable environments and a scanty diet, he applied himself zeal-
ously to his studies and researches. During his last course of lectures he
served as a medical cadet in the hospital at Keokuk.
On leaving college. Dr. King received a position as paymaster's clerk
in the United States navy, which he held for a period of eight months, at
the expiration of which time he began the practice of his profession in Miami
county, Indiana, locating at Miami in the spring of 1865 and remaining in
that place until his removal, in 1876, to Greenfield, Indiana, where, during
the ensuing twenty years, he built up a large and lucrative business and
where he still maintains his residence.
Dr. King served ten years on the board of pension examiners of Hancock
county and for five years was medical director of the department of Indiana,
Grand Army of the Republic, besides holding for one year the position of
surgeon-general, national encampment. Grand Army of the Republic, to which
he was elected at Boston in 1904. The Doctor was a leading spirit in arous-
ing an interest in the matter of erectmg a monument in honor of ex-Governor
Oliver P. Morton, and to him, more perhaps than to any other man, is due
the inauguration and carrying to successful conclusion of the movement which
culminated in the beautiful and appropriate memorial which now adorns the
state capitol. He was present at the unveiling of the monument and, as
chairman of the commission, took an active part in the ceremonies. It was
on the same day, also, that he was tendered the position of chief surgeon of
the Soldiers' Home, at Lafayette, which he now holds and the duties of
which he assumed in April, 1908.
630 PAST AND PRESENT
In the important and responsible office with which he has been honored,
Dr. King measures up to the requirements of the management of the insti-
tution and thus far his course has been eminently creditable and satisfactory,
fully meeting the high expectations of his friends and the public, ever justi-
fying the wisdom of his choice. In his professional work he has two capable
assistants and the hospital corps at this time consists of eighteen nurses, se-
lected with especial reference to their efficiency and skill. There are now in
the various wards seventy-seven female and fifty-one male patients under
tieatment, to whom the chief surgeon gives personal ser\-ice. in addition to
which duty he also looks carefully after the condition of the institution and
its inmates, insisting upon due attention to the sanitary regulations which
he has inaugurated, the beneficial results of which are already perceptible in
the increasing good health throughout the establishment.
Dr. King's best energies have ever been devoted to his profession and
his pronounced ability has gained him a position in the front rank among the
leading medical practitioners of Indiana. As stated in preceding paragraphs,
many honors in connection with his profession have been bestowed upon him
and in every position to which called he has added luster to a name which
for many years has been widely known in medical circles throughout his own
and other states.
Dr. King has twice been married, the tirst time in 1865, to Martha
Haynes, of Miami county, who died in 1881, after bearing him one son,
Frank R. King, who is connected with the Piqua National Bank, of Piqua,
Ohio. The Doctor's second wife was Belle Reed, whom he married in
Greenfield, in 1882, his present companion, the union being -without issue.
Fraternally, Dr. King is a Mason of high standing, having attained the
council degree, besides holding, from time to time, important official positions
in the different branches of the order. In politics, he is a Republican, with
Prohibition tendencies, being an earnest advocate of temperance and an in-
fluential worker in propagating the principles of the same. With his wife,
he belongs to the Christian church, holding membership with the congrega-
tion at Greenfield.
Dr. King is the only male survivor of his family. His grandfather,
Joshua King, of New York, moved down the Ohio river, by flat boat, at an
early day, landing at the farm of General Harrison about the year 1820.
Two years later he transferred his residence to Fayette county, Indiana. The
Doctor's father purchased the eighty acres of land in Hamilton county of
Captain Sleeker, of Fayette county, who originally entered the same. O1
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 63 1
the paternal side, the Doctor's ancestors are traced to France, his grand-
mother having belonged to the La Force family, which had representatives in
the United States from a very early time.
THOMAS BAUER.
Thomas Bauer, president of the Lafayette Box Board and Paper Com-
pany, is a native of Pennsylvania, born at Nazareth, Northampton county,
July I, i860, the son of Jacob and Marie (Marsh) Bauer. He of whom
this notice is written was reared in his native county and remained there until
eighteen years of age, when the family moved to Akron, Ohio, where young
Bauer became employed as a salesman in a retail clothing store. He re-
mained in Akron for eight years, during which time he married.
In 1886, on account of ill health. Mr. Bauer was obliged to seek a differ-
ent kind of work. During that j^ear, and when the natural gas industry was
first being developed at Kokomo, Indiana, he was employed by the Kokomo
Straw Board Company. He connected himself with this factory with the
notion of being only temporarily in such line of business, but he took hold
with a right good will and determination to perform every known duty in
the best possible manner. He worked in various departments and was rapidly
advanced. In 1892 he removed to Yorktown, near Muncie, Indiana, where
a new strawboard factory was built and of which plant he became manager.
Tliere he remained until 1902, when he disposed of his interest and the fol-
lowing year came to Lafayette, where he organized the Lafayette Box Board
and Paper Company and has ever since been identified with the city of Lafay-
ette and her general business interests.
?:Ir. B?uer, who is nt the held of this, the laro'est plant nf its line of
products in the world, believes that diligence is the only key to signal success.
He is competent to take charge and manage any of the many departments of
the large business with which he has achieved so large an amount of success,
and has become so widely known. Being thus fully acquainted with all the
many details of producing the products of his extensive factory, he is com-
petent to handle the large number of men he has in his emplnv, thev realizing
rh;it he is competent to judge and give advice at CTch nnd everv point from
where the raw materials are brought to the factory, on through the various
processes to the point where the goods are shipped to the open markets of
the world.
632 PAST AND PRESENT
While Mr. Bauer is a man of affairs and engrossed in the hne of work
which he so successfully operates in, yet he is a man among men, is public-
spirited and in no manner neglects the social functions of modern life and
activities. He is connected with the Masonic fraternity, having advanced to
the thirty-second degree in that most ancient and honorable order. He is
also affiliated with that younger but none the less valuable and popular fia-
ternity, the Knights of Pythias, of which he is a member of the grand lodge of
Indiana.
In his political views Mr. Bauer is a Republican, believing that that
political party best subserves the interests of the masses of American citizens.
Mr. Bauer was united in marriage August 6, 1885, to Addie Cordelia
Hunsicker, a native of Akron, Ohio. While Mr. Bauer is one of the busiest
business factors in the Star City, he has the happy faculty of dispatching his
affairs in such a methodical manner as to have time to give to matters out-
side and is ever ready to impart information concerning a plant which has
come to be second to none in this country, as well as one of Lafayette's chief
manufacturing industries. Of the detailed history and workings of this fac-
tory the reader of this work is referred to the industrial chapters.
HON. EDWIX P. HAMMOND.
Judge E. P. Hammond, attorney-at-law, Lafayette, well known through-
out the state as a lawyer, judge of the supreme court and veteran of the
Civil war (in which cause he took the Union side and for gallant deeds
was more than once promoted, finally to brevet colonel), will form the sub-
ject of this memoir, that the deeds of his eventful life may be made safe
in the annals of his county, to be read and duly appreciated by those who
shall come after him, searching for the brave, the patriotic and the brainy
characters who have lived and labored in Tippecanoe county, in both the
past and present century of its history.
Judge Hammond was born in Brookville, Indiana, November 26, 1835,
a son of Nathaniel and Hannah (Sering) Hammond. On the Hammond side
of his genealogical tree he is descended from New England ancestry. His
father remo\-efl from \^ermont to Indiana, and was married in Brookville.
\\'hen fourteen years of age his parents removed to Columbus. Indiana,
where he obtained such etlucation as the common schools and the seminary
at Columbus afforded. In 1854 he went to Indianapolis to accept a position
EDWIN P. HAMMOND
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 633
as a clerk in a wholesale store. During his first year thus employed
he caught a glimpse of professional life and abandoned his mercantile clerk-
ship for the study of law in the office of Hons. Abram A. Hammond and
Thomas A. Nelson, of Terre Haute. The former, his half-brother, was
elected lieutenant-governor of Indiana in 1856, and became governor of the
state on the death of Governor Willard in 1859. In 1856, after passing
an examination, he entered the senior law class of Asbury (now DePauw)
University, at Greencastle, and in 1857 received the degree of Bachelor of
Laws. He opened an office at Rensselaer, a town buried in the almost wilder-
ness prairie land. While it was a great contrast from the cities he had
resided in — Indianapolis and Terre Haute — and was a lonely spot, yet with
true courage he set forth to do and to dare and became identified with the
pioneer dwellers of that town. There he continued to live and labor for
more than thirty years and in that time built up a good legal practice.
The sound of Fort Sumter's opening cannon of the great Civil war
was echoing through the land and Lincoln's first call for men to suppress the
on-coming rebellion of the Southern states caught his ear. He enlisted in the
three-months service, and was elected and commissioned first lieutenant
of Company G, Ninth Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, serving under
Captain (afterwards Colonel and General) Robert H. Milroy, in West Vir-
ginia. At the termination of his enlistment Mr. Hammond resumed his
law practice. He was elected to the Indiana legislature in October, 1861,
representing Newton, Jasper and Pulaski counties. In August, 1862, he as-
sisted in raising Company A, of the Eighty-seventh Indiana Regiment, and
was elected and commissioned its captain. March 22, 1863, he rose to the
rank of major, and November 21st of that year, to that of lieutenant-colonel.
He remained at the front, except a short time in 1863-64, when at home re-
cruiting volunteers. September 19 and 20. 1863, he participated in the fa-
mous battle of Chickamauga. His regiment went into the engagement with
three hundred and sixty-three men, and lost in killed and wounded one hun-
dred and ninety-nine men — more than half its number. During the last year
of the war he commanded his regiment, embracing one hundred days of in-
cessant fighting from Chattanooga to Atlanta. He accompanied General
Sherman on his great "march to the sea" and back through the Carolinas
to Washington. At the close of the war, on the recommendation of his
brigade, division and corps commanders, he was breveted colonel in the
United States \'olunteers, "for gallant and meritorious service during the
war."
When peace was finally declared. Colonel Hammond returned to the
practice of his profession, but in March, 1873, Gov. Thomas A. Hendricks
634 P-'^ST AND PRESENT
appointed him to the position of judge of the thirtieth judicial district, and
at tlie fall election of the same year he was elected to that otifice. Again in
1878, he was elected without opposition for a term of six years. May 14,
1883, Judge Hammond was appointed by Gov. A. G. Porter as judge of the
supreme court of the state to fill a vacancy caused by the appointment of Hon.
William A. Woods to the United States district court for Indiana. In the
autumn of 1884 he was the nominee of the Republican party for judge of
the supreme court from the fifth district, and with his party was defeated at
the polls. Though not successful of election, the fact that he received five
thousand more votes than did the head of the ticket was an evidence of his
popularity. January i, 1885, he retired from the supreme court bench,, after
gaining an enviable reputation for his judicial impartiality, firmness and judg-
ment concerning the law. For the next five years he practiced law at Rensse-
laer, after which he was again elected judge of the circuit court, serving
until August, 1892, when he resigned and formed a partnership with Charles
B. and William V. Stuart, under the firm name of Stuart Brothers & Ham-
mond (now Stuart, Hammond & Simms), with offices at Lafayette, to which
city the Judge removed in 1894. As a lawyer he has long sustained the well
earned reputation of being among the foremost legal lights of Indiana.
Gifted with a keen, analytical mind, with an intimate knowledge of the
law, his long practice and services as circuit and supreme judge make him
one of the ablest jurists of his time.
Before the Ci^il war. the Judge affiliated with the Democratic party,
but since that conflict has ever supported the principles of the Republican
party. In 1872 he was a delegate to the Republican convention at Philadel-
phia, which body nominated Gen. U. S. Grant for a second term as Presi-
dent.
Judge Hammond is a member of the Masonic, Odd Fellows, Grand
Army of the Republic, Union \^eteran Legion and Loval Legion fraternities.
He is a member of the board of managers of the Xational Home for Dis-
abled Volunteer Soldiers.
In June. 1892, Wabash College conferred on him the degree of Doctor
of Laws.
Judge Hammond married, in 1864. ^lary V. Spilter. The living chil-
dren born of this marriage union are: Louie, wife of ^^■illiam B. Austin;
Eugenia and Xina V. R. Hammond. He has two grandchildren. Virgie,
daughter of Mr. and Mrs. William B. Austin, married to R. M. Shayne,
and Nathaniel Hammond Hovner, son of his deceased daughter, [Mrs. Ed-
ward A. Hovner. By Prof. W. L. Cl.\rk.
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 635
BENNETT TAYLOR.
That man is fortunate who can trace his lineage baclv to a sterling an-
cestry, one on the escutcheon of which no blight or shadow of anything
derogatory rests. This Bennett Taylor is able to do, since a glance at his
ancestry will show that they were both honorable and industrious, playing
well their parts in the early drama of civilization in Tippecanoe county. The
biographist first learns of William Taylor, who was a native of Virginia, a
fine southern gentleman of the old school, who, in 1808, married Florence
Graham, a daughter of a prominent family in that locality. In 1828 they
emigrated to Tippecanoe county, Indiana,, and located in that part of Ran-
dolph township that is now comprised in Union township, where he erected
a double cabin of logs in which he lived until he could make brick and erect
a more commodious residence. He was a hard worker and soon developed
a good farm and had a splendid home in the midst of the wilderness which
lie found covering the county at his advent. Both he and his wife were
highly esteemed by their neighbors. Mr. Taylor's death occurred in 1839,
and his widow survived imtil 1856. They were the grandparents of the
gentleman whose name forms the caption of this sketch. Theii son, Sylvester
Taylor, who married Sarah E. Beasley, is the father of Bennett Taylor.
Sylvester Taylor was born January 14. 1829, on the farm where his father
settled the previous year. When he had grown to proper age he assisted
with the work of developing the home place and attended the neighboring
schools, receiving a fairly good education for those early times. He began
his career by teaching school in the home neighborhood. Not being satisfied
with what education he had obtained, he attended the old seminary at Lafay-
ette. He married into a well known family of this county, that of the Rev.
A. D. Beasley. Sylvester Taylor became a very successful farmer and dealer
in livestock and grain, and was interested in a large warehouse on the Monon
ra'lroad. liandling large consignments of grain annually and becoming one of
the county's prominent business men. He was a man of strict integrity and
had the confidence of all with whom he had dealings. He lived in Lafayette
the last five years of his life, dying October 17. 1903. It was about 1853
that he established Taylor's Station.
The birth of Bennett Taylor occurred at Taylor's Station, Tippecanoe
county, December 10, 1864. This place was named for his father and his
uncle. John. Bennett Taylor attended the public schools at Taylor's Station,
636 PAST AND PRESENT
later taking an academic course at Purdue University, having been a class-
mate of George Ade, both graduating the same year, 1887. Prior to that
date he had spent one summer in Dakota. In November, 1887, Air. Bennett
went to Romney and entered the grain business and built an elevator there.
He prospered in this line and in 1895 he sold out and went to Kirkpatrick
where he bought an elevator and continued to improve it, building up an
extensive trade. Desiring to expand in this business, he leased an elevator at
South Raub in 1898, and in 1900 he purchased the same. Thirty days later
it was destroyed by fire and he built a modern one in its place. In 1901 he
came to Taylor's Station. The old warehouse had burned there in 1887.
This was replaced in 1901 by a modern structure erected for j\Ir. Taylor,
thus making him three up-to-date large elevators. Soon afterwards he and
William B. Foresman bought two elevators at West Point and leased two
other elevators on the Wabash railroad. Since then an enormous quantity
of grain has been handled annually.
In January, 1904, Mr. Taylor purchased the stock of Robert Bell in
the Crabbs-Reynolds-Bell Grain Company, which operated elevators at Lafay-
ette, Crane and Ash Grove. On July i, 1904. the company was reorganized
as the Crabbs-Reynolds-Taylor Company, incorporated with a capital stock
and bonds of two hundred thousand dollars. The following are the present
officers who have served in their respective capacities since the organization :
A. E. Reynolds, president ; B. F. Crabbs and Bennett Taylor, vice-presidents ;
T. C. Crabbs, secretary and treasurer ; William B. Foresman, auditor. A. E.
Reynolds, B. F. and T. C. Crabbs reside at Crawfordsville.
This company now has twenty elevators in dififerent parts of Indiana,
all doing a flourishing business and requiring the combined efforts of a large
number of men to successfully handle the same. No small part of the large
success of this important company is due to the judicious management, the
sound counsel and the unusual business capacity of Bennett Taylor, one of
the vice-presidents of the company.
Mr. Taylor was married on December 29, 1892, to Gertrude May Simi-
son, daughter of Dr. John Simison, the pioneer physician of Romney. He
married Harriet E. Agnew, who also represented an old and honored family.
Mrs. Taylor received a good education, having graduated from the musical
department of DePauw University in 1890 and from the regular course of
that institution in 1891. She was also an active member of Alpha Phi fra-
ternity. She is a woman of many commendable personal traits which render
her a favorite with a large circle of friends in this locality. To Mr. and
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 637
Mrs. Bennett Taylor three children have been born, Harriet E. and Mildred
E. Another daughter died in infancy.
Mr. Taylor and wife own a highly productive farm of two hundred and
fifty-two acres at Taylor's Station, this county, also a section of land in North
Dakota, and Mrs. Taylor owns a farm of one hundred and twenty acres in
Randolph township. In addition to his many business interests, Mr. Taylor
is also a stockholder in three banks at Lafayette and a member of the di-
rectorate of the American National Bank.
Mr. Taylor is a member of the Lafayette city council at this writing,
from the fifth ward, and he is looking after the city's interests with that
same fidelity to duty that has characterized his individual business career.
In politics he is a Democrat. Something of his high and excellent standing
in this city is shown by the fact that he overcame a Republican majority
of one hundred and forty votes by forty-eight votes. He was nomi-
nated twice for county treasurer and made a very fine showing in a
hotly contested race against very great odds. He has long taken considerable
interest in local political affairs, and, in fact, in everything that has pertained
to the public and general good of his county. He is a member of the Trinity
Methodist Episcopal church, in the affairs of which he takes an abiding in-
terest, being at present one of the stewards of the same. He also belongs to
the Sigma Chi fraternity. Mr. Taylor is regarded as one of the substantial
and public-spirited citizens of Lafayette, where he is the recipient of the
confidence and high regard of all classes whether in business, public or social
life.
ALBA G. ARNOLD.
The subject of this sketch, who holds the important office of county
surveyor and enjoys wide repute as an accomplished civil engineer, is a
native of Tippecanoe county, Indiana, and a descendant of one of the early
pioneers who entered land in what is now Lauramie township about the time
the country was opened for settlement. This ancestor was his grandfather,
Charles Arnold, a true type of the sturdy backwoodsman of the early times,
and the greater part of the land which he purchased from the government is
still in possession of his descendants, a portion being owned by the subject.
Alba G. Arnold was born near the village of Clark's Hill, on the 22d day
of June, 1867. and spent his childhood and youth in Lauramie township,
638 PAST AND PRESENT
becoming familiar with the (kities of farm hfe while a mere lad and obtaining
his first educational discipline in the district school not far from his home.
Actuated by a laudable desire to increase his scholastic knowledge, he subse-
quenth- entered the Central Normal College at Danville, where, in addition f
tlie regular course, he took special work in civil engineering and surveying,
and made a creditable record as a close and critical student. For the pur-
pose of fitting himself for teaching, he attended for some time the State
Normal school at Terre Haute and on leaving that institution engaged in
educational work in his native county where, during the twelve years ensuing,
he taught in different townships and achieved much more than local repute as
a capable and popular instructor. Still later he taught in Clinton county
four years and at the expiration of that period discontinued educational work
to devote his entire time to civil engineering and surveying, both of which
he had followed at intervals in the meantime.
During the spring and summer months when not engaged in teaching
Mr. Arnold did considerable private surveying and civil engineering, prin-
cipally in the county of Hendricks, and on quitting the school room perma-
nentlv returned to Tippecanoe county, of which he was elected surveyor in
1906. His work during the following two years proved eminently satis-
factory and justifying the wisdom of his election, he was chosen his own
successor in the fall of 1908 and is now well on the second year of his second
term, his record meanwhile being creditable to himself and comparing favor-
ablv with that of any of his predecessors.
As an official Mr. Arnold is not only competent but exceedingly con-
scientious and careful, making duty paramount to every other consideration,
and thus far his work has been eminently satisfactory and his name above the
suspicion of a reproach. He has teen a lifelong and steadfast Republican
and takes an active interest in political affairs, being a judicious adviser in
the councils of his party and an untiring and influential worker in the ranks.
]\Ir. Arnold some years ago joined the Free and Accepted Masons and is
a highly respected member of that brotherhood, belonging to Mitler Lodge,
No. 268, at Clark's Hill, in which he has been honored from time to time
with important official positions. He is also identified with the Knights of
Pythias, holding membership with Sheffield Lodge, No. 414, at Dayton, and
its various auxiliaries and demonstrating in his relations with his fellowmen
the beautiful and sublime principles upon which the fraternity is founded. In
matters religious Mr. Arnold is liberal in all the term implies, belonging to
r.n church, but according to others the s?me right of opinii^in which he chims
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 639
for himself. He has profound respect for the church, however, as a civilizing
agency and believes its influence to be for the best interests of society and the
state, to which ends he contributes to its support and encourages the dissemi-
nation of religion among men.
Dr. Arnold is a married man and has a comfortable and attractive home,
the presiding genius of which is a lady of culture and refinement whose name
prior to taking the name she now so worthily bears was Hattie Pierce. Mrs.
•Arnold is a native of Tippecanoe county, a representative of one of the old
and highly esteemed families of this part of the state and has many personal
friends in the social circles to which she belongs.
CHARLES F. WILLIAMS.
Charles F. Williams, the senior partner of the Lafayette Sunday Leader,
who is so well and favorably known in journalistic circles in this portion of
Indiana, especially in Tippecanoe county, where he has wielded a pen of force
and intelligence for the past forty years, was born in 1845 i" Addison county,
Vermont, the son of Lambson Williams and wife. The father was a native
of ^'ermont. The subject spent his youthful days at Jersey ville, Illinois. As
he grew in }'ears, he learned the printer's trade in the office of the Democratic-
Union, published at Jerseyville. When but seventeen years old he was in-
duced to take an interest in a local newspaper called The Prairie State, at
Jerseyville. This was a very unfortunate move, for within a short time the
office was burned and young Williams lost all he had invested. For several
years he was employed at his trade in Alton, Illinois. Later he returned to
Jerseyville and published the Register for one year. He first located at La-
fayette in 1869 and for a few years was the city editor of the Daily Dispatch,
which paper discontinued in 1876. He then became connected with the
Sunday Leader, which paper he is still connected with in company with his
son, Charles F. Williams. It was in 1883 that he, in company with Ross
Gordon, purchased the Sunday Leader from F. E. D. McGinley, the paper
having been established in 1872 by John Carr. For complete history of this
journal the reader is referred to the Press chapter in this work.
Mr. Williams was married, in 1866, to Mary C, daughter of John C.
Dobelbower, who at one time was the editor of the Dispatch. Mrs. Williams
was born in the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The children born of
this union were Mary M., Charles F. and Laura A.
640 PAST AXD PRESENT
DANIEL W. SIMMS.
It requires a master mind to rise superior to discouraging environment
and achieve honorable distinction in a profession which demands of its
votaries strong and well balanced mentality and a long and thorough course
of intellectual and professional training. The qualities essential to success
in such a calling are possessed in an eminent degree by the well-known citizen
of Lafayette whose name appears at the head of this article, a gentleman who
not only ranks among the ablest lawyers of the Tippecanoe county bar. but
has likewise earned an enviable reputation in the courts of northern Indiana,
where his services have frequently been utilized in the trial of important
cases and the adjustment of large and far-reaching legal interests.
Daniel W. Simms, of the law firm of Stuart, Hammond & Simms, is
a native of Crawford county, Illinois, where his birth occurred on the 13th
day of February, 1862. The family to which he belonged, consisting of the
father, mother, three sons and one daughter, moved, in 1870, to Fountain
count}^ Indiana, where Daniel spent his youthful years on a farm. His
parents being in humble circumstances, he was early obliged to assume much
of the labor and responsibility of the family's support, thus, by a strenuous
though valuable experience, learning the true meaning of honest toil and the
important lesson that success is only attainable by earnest and long-continued
effort. When but ten years of age. he began making his own way in the
world, as a farm laborer, and in addition to clothing himself and meeting
other necessar}^ expenses from his hard-earned wages, contributed a generous
share to his parents, in this way early becoming a helper and burden-sharer.
During the winter months he attended the district schools of the neighbor-
hood and made commendable progress in the common branches, but owing
to adverse circumstances was obliged to discontinue his studies for the sterner
of life's duties, although a natural student with an almost inordinate craving
for books and learning.
In 1875 young Simms went to northwestern Iowa, where he spent the
two ensuing years working as a farm hand in the summer time and devoting
the winter seasons to school work. At the expiration of that period he dis-
continued farm labor and went west, where he took up the life of a cowboy,
spending the three succeeding years among the large cattle ranches of Kansas,
the Indian Territory and Texas, and sharing with comrades the hardships
and vicissitudes common to the wild free experiences of the prairies and
plains. Mr. Simms went west in 1877. but after spending three years there
DAN. W. SIMMS
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 64I
decided to return home and if possible secure a better education, to the end that
he might tit himself for some useful occupation or profession. With this laud-
able object in view, he returned in 1880 to Fountain county, Indiana, but
finding his parents in very poor health and practically unable to earn a liveli-
hood he at once abandoned the idea of attending school and with true filial
devotion lost no time in looking about for the first work to which he could
lay his hands, that he might minister to the necessities of the family. It
was not long until he secured employment on the Peoria division of the "Big
Four" railroad, then in process of construction, his first duty being the driving
of spikes, very hard and exhausting work which only strong and able-bodied
men are capable of doing. After spending some months in this capacity, he
gave up the job and resumed farm labor, to which he devoted considerable
time, saving sufticient means while thus engaged to carry him through a
term of school. Again the ambitious young man was doomed to a bitter
disappointment, for no sooner had he perfected arrangements to begin his stud-
ies than he was stricken wits a severe attack of typhoid fever, which within
a comparatively brief period not only reduced his strength to the lowest possi-
ble minimum but also exhausted his meagre capital. \\'hen sufficiently re-
covered, however, he addressed himself with renewed courage and fortitude
to the task of obtaining the much-desired discipline and in due time secured
a place with a farmer who agreed to board and lodge him while attending
school in return for such labor as he could perform of mornings and even-
ings, and on the days when school was not in session. In addition to close
application to his regular studies during the following winter, the young man
spent the long nights poring over his books, in this way adding not only
to his scholastic knowledge, but becoming familiar with the writings of a
number of authors and well versed on many general subjects.
By close and critical stud3-ing, Simms, the following year, was suffi-
ciently advanced to teach in the district school, which line of work he fol-
lowed for some time, in this way procuring the necessary funds to enable
him to attend several spring and fall terms at the National American Normal
University, Lebanon, Ohio, and a similar institution at Ladoga, Indiana.
Actuated by a laudable desire to prosecute his studies still further, he subse-
quently entered Asbury (now DePauw) L^niversity, which he attended until
1885, when he discontinued his scholastic work to devnte all of his attention
to the study of law which he had taken up in the meantime as the profession
best suited to his tastes and inclinations.
W^ith an energy and ambition which would not be satisfied with any
but a high standing in his chosen calling. ^Ir. Simms applied himself dili-
(41)
642 PAST AND PRESENT
gently to his studies and researches and possessing a naturaUy legal mmd and
a decided preference for the profession, it was not long until he was admitted
to the bar and began the practice at Veedersburg, Indiana, in partnership
with Freeman E. Miller, a well-known attorney of that place, the tirm thus
constituted forging to the front in due time and securing its proportionate
share of patronage. While a resident of Veedersburg Mr. Simms was
induced to take charge of the schools of the town, which he conducted for
some time in connection with his professional duties, but realizing that success
in eithercalling could not be attained in this way and with no desire to con-
tinue longer as an educator he finally resigned his position as principal of
schools, and in 1887 removed to Covington, where he became associated
with O. S. Douglass, and within a comparatively brief period rose to a posi-
tion of prominence and influence among the leading lawyers of the county
seat.
Mr. Simms, although practically a beginner, gained marked success in
his profession and in his new iield was soon the peer of any member of the
Fountain county bar. In 1891 Henry Dochterman. an able and popular
attorney, tendered him a partnership, which was accepted and which con-
tinued until dissolved by the death of the senior member in March, 1893.
The firm, in the meantime, was engaged in many imijortant cases, which by
reason of the failing health of Mr. Dochterman fell to IMr. Simms, who, in
this way, forged rapidly to the front as an able lawyer and a careful, judi-
cious and eminently successful practitioner. In April following the death
of his partner, Mr. Simms became associated with Lucal Xebeker, under the
name of Nebeker & Simms. The firm thus formed lasted five years, during
which time they built up an extensive and lucrative business in the courts
of Fountain and other counties, and became widely and favorably known in
legal circles throughout the northern part of the state.
With a practice rapidly outgrowing the limits to which it was principally
confined and a reputation as an able and successful lawyer second to that
of none of his compeers, Mr. Simms at the expiration of the time indicated
deemed it advisable to select a larger and more advantageous field for the
exercise of his legal talent, accordingly, in the year 1898, he removed to
Lafayette, where he was already well and favorably known and where he
at once attained prominence at a bar which had long been distinguished for
a high standard of professional ability. The same year in which he took up
his residence in this city he became a member of the firm of Hanly, Wood
& Simms, long regarded throughout the state as an exceptionally strong and
successful combination and uliich continued under that name until March 15,
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 643
1899, when the subject withdi-ew to enter the firm of Stuart, Hammond &
Simms, with which he has since been identified.
Sufficient has been said in the foregoing Hnes to afford a tolerably cor-
rect idea of Mr. Simms' rise and progress in his profession and to justify
the assumption that the eminent standing which he has attained has been
honorably earned and that in the future his fame as one of Indiana's most bril-
liant and successful lawyers and enterprising citizens will be secure.
Circumstances, as well as a natural inclination, led Mr. Simms, while
still a young man, to take an interest in public and political affairs and for
a number of years he has been quite an active politician and a leader of the
Democratic party in his various places of residence. In 1896. he was a
delegate to the national convention at Chicago and two years later was the
choice of his party for congress, but his removal from the district, a short
time before the convention met, prevented his nomination. Though emi-
nently qualified to fill with distinguished success any position within the
gift of the people, he has never aspired to public place or official honors,
having always been devoted to his profession and satisfied with the simple
title of citizen. Mr. Simms is pre-eminently a self-made man and as such
deserves great credit for his remarkable rise from poverty and obscurity to a
place of distinction and affluence. Personally, he impresses all with whom he
comes into contact, as a man of strong convictions and great force of character,
nevertheless, in the midst of the multitudinous cares and demands of ?,
busy life, he is always approachable and affable, being gracious in his associ-
ations with his fellow men, and a true type of the intelligent, broad-minded,
polished gentleman. Possessing strong and discriminating intellectual quali-
ties, which have been developed by thorough training, he not only keeps
abreast of the times on all matters of moment but has likewise been a critical
reader and a student of events, whose opinions always carry weight and influ-
ence. He has gained a reputation as a well-rounded man, admirably equipped
with the solid and brilliant qualities essential to success and distinction,
but above these, his life has been ordered on a high plane which bespeaks
a deep sense of his stewardship as a representative American of his day and
generation. Mr. Simms is a gentleman of domestic tastes and finds his
greatest pleasure in his home, where, surrounded by his loved ones, he casts
care aside and opens his heart to all the noble and gentle influences which
such relations bring. His wife, formerly Ezadora J. Wright, has borne him
three children, a son, who died at the age of three and a half years, and two
daughters, the elder of which died at the age of nine.
644 i'AST aXd present
J. LYNN VAN NATTA.
The gentleman whose name introduces this sketch occupies a prominent
place in the business circles of Lafayette and has also been honored by his
fellow citizens with an important public trust, being at this time the efficient
and popular treasurer of Tippecanoe county, besides holding other interests
which have kept his name before the people. J. Lynn Van Natta is a native
of Tippecanoe county and dates his birth from the 15th day of October,
1870, having first seen the light of day in Shelby township, where his parents
formerly resided. Job Van Natta, the subject's father, whose birth occurred
on January 27, 1833, is also a native of the county and a scion of one of the
old and highly esteemed famihes. He has spent the greater part of his life
as a farmer and stockdealer, but since discontinuing these lines of effort some
years ago he has devoted his attention to various business enterprises, includ-
ing, among others, the Otterbein State Bank, of which he is president; the
First National Bank of Boswell, tOAvards which he sustains the same official
relation; the jNIerchants National Bank of Lafayette, of which he is director
and a large stockholder ; the Lafayette Loan and Trust Company and the La-
fayette Savings Bank, in both of which he has large interests. Mr. Van
Natta possesses business ability of a high order, and as a financier ranks
among the most capable and far-seeing of his contemporaries. His success
has been commensurate with the energy' displayed in his various undertakings,
and he is now one of the wealthy and influential men of the city in which he
lives, owning, in addition to the interests noted above, a large amount of
valuable real estate in both city and country, including nine hundred acres of
fine land in Tippecanoe township, six hundred acres in Shelby township and
seven hundred acres in the county of LaGrange, the greater part under
cultivation, well improved and representing a fortune of considerable magni-
tude. Mr. Van Natta served with a distinguished record in the Civil war,
joining at the beginning of the struggle the Tenth Regiment. Indiana Vol-
unteer Infantry, in which for three years he held the rank of major and
later was commissioned lieutenant colonel of the regiinent, a position he held
when discharged. He was with his command in some of the most notable
campaigns in which the Army of the Tennessee took part and participated in
a number of hard-fought battles, and it fell to him to lead in the first attack
on tlie string Confederate position in the bloody battle of Chickamauga.
Harriett Barnes, wife of Job Van Natta, is a native of Chillicothe. Ohio,
where her birth occurred on June 19, 1842. She and her husband live in a
TIPPECANOE COUNTY. IND. 645
beautiful and comfortable modern home at No. 213 Perrin avenue and are
among the best known and most popular people of the cit}', as the social circles
in which they move attest. They have reared a family of six children,
namely : Mrs. Augustus Rufifner, of Chicago ; J. Lynn, of this review ; Sam-
uel G., a stock dealer of Bovina, Texas; Mrs. George Baldwin, of Seattle,
Washington; John W., who also lives at Bovina, Texas, and Nancy, a young
unmarried lady who is still with her parents.
J. Lynn Van Natta, who has been a lifelong resident of his native county,
received his preliminary education in the public schools and later entered
Purdue University, where he pursued his studies until completing the class-
ical course, receiving his degree in 1894, two of his brothers being grad-
uates of the same institution. Soon after finishing his education Mr. Van
Natta became interested in the livestock business with his brothers, John W.
and Samuel G., and later he engaged in another line of enterprise, the Lafay-
ette Fuel and Builders' Supply Company, which he owned and operated until
elected to the office he now holds and in which he still retains an interest.
Mr. Van Natta and his two brothers alluded to above own and operate
one of the largest cattle ranches in the state of Texas and have achieved
marked success in the livestock business. Their ranch, which lies in Bailey
county and embraces an area of one hundred and forty thousand acres, is
stocked with nine thousand cows, from which the bovine population is being
rapidly increased, this extensive business having been conducted for about
five years by the Van Natta family, but since 1907 it has been carried on by
the present proprietors, the subject owning a third interest in the enterprise.
In this and his various other business relations Mr. Van Natta has met with
encouraging success and he now stands well to the front among the men who
have contributed to the material progress of the city and given character and
stability to its institutions.
The subject early became interested in public and political matters and
for a number of years has been one of the county's active young Republicans
and a judicious adviser in the councils of his party. In 1904 he was nomi-
nated for the office of county treasurer and at the ensuing election defeated
his opponent by a very decisive majority and. in due time, took charge of
the office, the duties of which he has since discharged to the satisfaction of
the public irrespective of political ties. His official career, which has been
above the suspicion of reproach, reflects credit upon himself and his party,
and fully demonstrates the wisdom of his election, the opinion prevailing
that the county has never been served by a more capable, courteous or oblig-
ing officer.
646 PAST AND PRESENT
Mr. Van Natta is a member of the Z^lasonic fraternity and the Benevolent
and Protective Order of Elks, and in matters religious his views are in har-
mony with the Methodist creed, himself and other members of his family
having long been regular attendants of the Methodist Episcopal church at
Lafayette. He is a gentleman of pleasing presence, easily approachable and
has many warm personal friends in the city and country in whose loyalty-
he reposes the most implicit confidence. Mr. Van Natta enjoyed superior
educational advantages, and the result of his intellectual discipline is perceiv-
able not only in his culture, courtesy and general intelligence, but also in
the broad views he takes of men and things and the efforts which he ever puts
forth to realize within himself his high ideals of manhood and citizenship.
Few men have exercised a stronger influence than he in the public afifairs
of Lafayette and Tippecanoe county and none are held in higher esteem by
all classes and conditions of the populace.
JOSEPH DELMAR BARTLETT.
The subject of this sketch, who is a well-known pharmacist and pro-
prietor of the drug house at No. 406 Main street, Lafayette, is a native of
New England and combines in himself many of the sterling qualities and char-
acteristics for which the people of that section of the Union have long been
distinguished. He traces his ancestry to an early period in the history of his
native state of New Hampshire, where his forbears appear to have settled
in colonial times, and it is a matter of record that the branch of the family
to which he belongs is directly descended from Josiah Bartlett, one of the
signers of the Declaration of Independence and a man of prominence and in-
fluence during the Revolutionary period and for some years following the
struggle for liberty. Others members of the family were also identified with
that period as civilians and soldiers, several having served in the army with
distinction and added luster to a name which for many years previous had
been honored for achievements in various lines of activity and thought.
John Z. Bartlett, the subject's father, was born in Sunapee, New Hamp-
shire, and spent his life near that place as a prosperous tiller of the soil. He
was a man of intelligence and high character, reared a family of children and
lived to the age of seventy-six years, dying in 1905. His wife, who bore the
maiden name of Saphronia Sargent, was also a native of New Hampshire and
is still living near Sunapee. The brothers of the subject are Fred L., who
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 647
follows the pursuit of agriculture in New Hampshire; John H., an attorney-
at-law of Portsmouth, that state, and Mott L., who is connected with the
Boston & Maine railroad. The only sister is Mrs. Sadie x\iken, whose husband
is engaged in the mercantile business at St. Johnsbury, Vermont.
Joseph Delmar Bartlett was born August 5, 1872, at Sunapee, New
Hampshire, and spent his early life in his native town, where he also received
his educational training. In the fall of 1890 he came to Lafayette. Indiana,
and enrolled in the pharmaceutical course at Purdue University and two years
later was graduated from that institution, after which he entered the employ
of a local druggist, with whom he remained six years. Purchasing his em-
ployer's stock at the expiration of that time, he established in 1898 the business
at No. 406 Main street, Lafayette, which he still carries on and which, under
his excellent management, has increased to such an extent that his store is now
one of the largest of the kind and best patronized in the city. Mr. Bartlett
carries full lines of drugs and chemicals, together with a complete stock of
other articles, novelties, sundries, etc., such as are found in a first-class drug
house and his patronage is such that he now requires the services of four
experienced assistants to supply the demands of customers. He is an accom-
plished druggist, familiar with every phase of his profession, and all prescrip-
tions and matters requiring a technical knowledge of pharmacy receive his
personal attention with promptness and despatch. His patronage is of the
best class and by straightforward business methods he has achieved an en-
viable reputation, his efforts to please each customer before he leaves the
store being among the factors that have paved the way to success.
Mr. Bartlett was united in marriage July 12, 1897, with Miss Ella
Kellog Brady, daughter of Jefferson Brady, late of Tippecanoe county, and
IMartha Pierce Brady, who was also born and reared in this part of the state.
Mrs. Bartlett was educated in Purdue University and for some time previous
to her marriage taught in the public schools, first in the country and later in
the West Lafayette high school, where she had a position for several years.
She has two brothers, Samuel and George Pierce, the former a business man
of Indianapolis, the latter a resident of Lafayette ; Susan, her only sister, is
married and living in West Lafayette. Mr. and Mrs. Bartlett have a son
and daughter, the former, Irvin G., eight years of age, and Mary Agnes, six.
In his fraternal relations Mr. Bartlett holds membership with the
Knights of Pythias and Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and in
politics he votes the Republican ticket, as did his father from the organization
of the party until his death. As far back as he has any knowledge, his ances-
tors were Methodists and he, too, subscribes to the same religious faith, beino^
648 PAST AND PRESENT
with his wife an esteemed member of the Trinity church, Lafayette, and
deeply interested in its various hues of good work. Though never an office
seeker, Mr. Bartlett served three and one-half years as police commissioner,
to which position he was appointed by Governor Durbin, in which he labored
for the best interests of the municipality, proving an able and popular official,
as was attested by the peace and quietude of the city during his incumbency.
Mr. Bartlett's life has been well spent; whether in the discharge of public
duty or private obligations, his strict integrity and faithfulness command the
respect and confidence of all. His character is marked by great sincerity and
firmness; his manner ever courteous and genial. Careful and painstaking,
exact and conscientious, he has from year to year prospered and the future
awaits him with bounteous rewards.
CHARLES BENJAMIN HINEA.
Lovers of art and readers of pages devoted to this subject in the local
press will readily recognize in this name one of the best known photographers
in northern Indiana, a man who has the true artistic temperament, both
natural and acquired, which he has directed in proper channels, as we shall
see by a perusal of the following paragraphs. From earliest boyhood Charles
B. Hinea developed a taste for art and a most commendable ambition to suc-
ceed in this attractive field of endeavor which no discipline could repress and
no misfortune could entirely check. By persistence and the exercise of his
natural talents he has not only achieved a fair measure of notoriety, but also
success in a financial way, though, as usual with men of his type, perhaps not
equal to his deserts. He was born in Frederick, Maryland, August 14, 1871,
the son of Henry and Amanda (Routzahn) Hinea, also natives of Maryland.
The father was superintendent of a factory for many years and is well and
favorably known in Hagerstown, Maryland, where he now resides. His wife
passed to her rest, March 11, 1905, at the age of sixty-five years. She is re-
membered as a kind and genial wife and mother. They were the parents of
nine children.' only three of whom are now living; Charles Benjamin, of this
review, being the second in order of birth. When he was twelve years of age
his parents moved to Hagerstown, Maryland, where he grew to maturity. He
was educated in the public and high schools and after leaving school he at
once began the study of photography in Hagerstown. Two years later he
went to Baltimore, Marjland, for the purpose of securing a higher grade of
CHARLES B. HINEA
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 649
instruction, and he accordingly took a course in art under the famous Dietrich.
So rapidly did young Hinea progress in this work that he found employment
soon afterward in one of the leading art studios of Baltimore, that of Cum-
mings, the leading photographer of the Monument City. His work attract-
ing general attention, he was later employed by Gilbert & Bacon of Phila-
delphia. He also worked at Reading, Pennsylvania, and in Kansas City,
Missouri, in each of these cities turning out work that won commendable
praise for its high quality. In May, 1890, he opened a studio at Clinton, Iowa,
where he remained one year, then came to Valparaiso, Indiana, in which city
he remained for a period of six years. In September, 1898, he established
a permanent business at Lafayette, Indiana, his studio, at the corner of Sixth
and Columbia streets, being a model of its kind, having all the latest equip-
ment and attractive furnishings and being easily the leading studio in the
city. All grades of photography, sepia, water colors, enlargement, etc., arc
done here. In this line Mr. Hinea has been awarded several medals at
national photographers' conventions and he holds the silver medal of the
Indiana Photographers' Association. He was awarded the bronze medals at
the Photographers' Association of America at Chautauqua, New York, in
1896 and 1897, and the following year at Indianapolis, Indiana, he received
the first prize silver medal mentioned above. He has built up a very extensive
and lucrative patronage with the people of Lafayette and surrounding cities,
his name now being familiar throughout this locality in this Hne of work.
In 1893 Mr. Hinea was united in marriage with Stella Hiatt, a native
of Indiana, and a lady of pleasing personality and artistic tastes. This union
has resulted in the birth of .one child. Leslie, a student in the local schools
where he is making a very commendable record. In his political relations,
Mr. Hinea is a Republican, but he is not an active worker in the ranks. He
is a member of the Indiana Art League, in which he takes considerable inter-
est and has much influence. Personally, Mr. Hinea is courteous, obliging and
at once impresses the stranger as a true gentleman.
CHARLES V. FOLCKEMER.
C. V. Folckemer, formerly of the firm known as \\'illiam Folckemer &
Son, but since April 28, 1907, sole proprietor of the large establishment with
which his name is identified, holds worthy prestige among the representative
business men of Lafayette and a prominent place among the city's must enter-
650 PAST AND PRESENT
prising and public-spirited citizens. Mr. Folckemer is a native of Tippecanoe
county, Indiana, and the only son of William and Catherine E. (Toole)
Folckemer, the father born September 15, 1826, in York county, Pennsyl-
vania, the mother in Springfield, New Jersey, on June 18, 1834. When a
young man, William Folckemer went to Ohio, where he served an apprentice-
ship at cabinetmaking, after which he came to Indiana and, sometime in the
early forties, located at Lafayette, where he was employed for some years as
foreman of a large cabinetmaking establishment, subsequently purchasing the
enterprise and becoming sole proprietor of it. Mr. Folckemer, in due time,
added greatly to the capacity of his place of business and in addition to the
manufacture of various lines of cabinet work, he also bought and sold fur-
niture on quite an extensive scale, building up a large and lucrative trade and
taking a prominent position in the first rank of the city's busine'ss men. For a
number of years he was the leading furniture dealer of Lafayette, and in
addition to promoting his own interests he contributed largely to the material
advancement of the city by erecting several substantial buildings, including
the large four-story brick block, covering an area of forty by one hundred and
fifty feet, with a two-story addition, twenty by eighty feet, and several ex-
tensive warehouses, all of which are required for the successful prosecution
of a business which has grown so rapidly in magnitude and importance
that it is now one of the largest and most successful of the kind in
the state. Mr. Folckemer purchased his employer's interests in 1875 ^nd
three years afterward took his son Charles in as a partner, from which time
to the present the latter has practically controlled the enterprise. Under his
able and judicious management the business has been developed until, reach-
ing its present extensive proportions, the stock, consisting of all kinds of
furniture demanded by the trade, both wholesale and retail, also a full and
complete line of undertaking goods and everything else required in the latter
department, the shop being amply equipped with the latest improved machinery
for the manufacture of high-grade cabinet work and operated by mechanics
and artisans selected with especial reference to their efficiency and skill, the
establishment in its various departments furnishing employment to an average
of fifteen men every working day of the year. During his active life, Wil-
liam Folckemer not only built up his own large business establishment, but
was also interested in various other enterprises, which returned an ample
income and made him one of the wealthy and influential men of the city.
He dealt quite extensively in real estate, in both city and county, and at the
time of his death he had large farming interests and valuable rental property
in Lafayette, also l)ank stock and various other investments. In politics, he
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 65 1
was a stanch Republican and an influential factor in local affairs, and for a
period of sixteen years represented the third ward in the city council, besides
serving for a number of years as water works trustee and filling other official
positions of honor and trust. During his long term of service in the common
council, he was instrumental in bringing about much important municipal
legislation and he could have remained longer in that body had he not declined
a re-election at the expiration of the time noted.
Mr. Folckemer was a man of high character and sterling worth, a zeal-
ous member of the Presbyterian church and a liberal contributor to all religious
and other worthy enterprises. He joined the Independent Order of Odd Fel-
lows when a young man and for many years was the oldest member of that
fraternity in Lafayette; he was also an active and influential worker in the
Masonic, Pythian. Improved Order of Red Men and the Benevolent and
Protective Order of Elks lodges, in all of which he was honored from time to
time with important official positions. In addition to the various interests
already alluded to, he was a leading spirit in the organization of the Lafayette
Telephone Company, which he served for several years as president, and he
also held for some time the office of trustee of the Lafayette Loan and Trust
Company and trustee of the American National Bank.
He measured up to a high standard of manhood and citizenship, was
just to the poor and dependent and never turned a deaf ear to the cries of
the suffering or distressed. His was indeed a good life, filled to repletion with
good to his fellowmen, and when called to his final reward, on the 28th of
April, 1907, the people of Lafayette mourned his loss as that of a true friend
and benefactor of his kind. Mrs. Folckemer preceded her husband to the
grave by nearly seven years, departing this life April 11, 1900, retaining to
the last the esteem and confidence of the large circle of friends in which she
moved.
Charles V. Folckemer was born in Lafayette on August 10, 1857, re-
ceived his educational training in the city schools and when still young entered
his father's establishment, where he soon obtained a practical knowledge of
business life. As already stated, he became a member of the firm in 1878
and later assumed the management of the business, which under his direction
and control has since grown to very large proportions and given him much
more than l'~>cal repute as an enterprising, sagacious and far-seeing man of
affairs. Following in the footsteps of his honored father, he has done much
to advance the interests of the community and benefit his fellowmen, and
to him as much perhaps as to any other is the city indebted for its high
reputation as an important industrial and business center.
652 PAST AND PRESENT
Sufficient has been said in the preceding paragraphs to afford the reader
an intelligent idea of the magnitude of the business which i\Ir. Folckemer
owns and controls, and the only thing additional to be stated is the fact that
he has proven a worthy successor to one of the ablest and best balanced men
the city has ever known, and that he occupies today an influential place in a
community long noted for the high order of its business talent. Fraternally,
he is identified with the Knights of Pythias, Benevolent and Protective Order
of I'^lks. D'-ni(!s and Eagles orders, in addition to which he
also devotes considerable time and attention to private benevolences and
charities and manifests a lively interest in all enterprises and measures having
for their object the material progress of the city in which he resides.
A gentleman of noble purposes and high ideals. Mr. Folckemer has ever
used his influence on the right side of moral questions and issues and stands
for law and order in all the ternis imply. He fills a large place, not only
in business circles, but also in the public view, and the distinction accorded him
of being one of the notable men of the day in the city of Lafayette has been
well and honorably earned.
OLIVER MORTON NISLEY. D. D. S.
The profession of dental surgery has several worthy representatives in
Lafayette, prominent among whom is Dr. Oliver Nisley, who since about the
year 1890 has practiced his profession and now maintains an elegant suite of
parlors in the ]\Ioffitt block and built up a lucrative patronage in all parts
of the city. Dr. Nisley was born on a farm near Purdue L^niversity, October
4. 1856. a son of Abraham and Nancy (Mumma) Nisley, natives of Dauphin
county, Pennsylvania, descendants of well known families of that state. Some
time after their marriage these parents moved to Indiana, making their long
journey to the new home in a one-horse wagon and locating about the year
1850 two miles north of the present site of Purdue University, where Mr.
Nisley purchased land and improved a farm on which he spent the remainder
of his days, dying on the 22d day of November, 1889, at the age of seventy-
four. Mrs. Nisley, who departed this life on April 13th of the same year,
was seventy-one years old at the time of her demise and the mother of eleven
children, eight of whom survive. Christian M., the oldest of the family, re-
sides in Lafayette and is one of the constables of the city ; Esther, the second
in order of birth, is unmarried and lives in Portland. Oregon; Emeline, wife
of W. H. Felix, makes her home in West Lafayette; Millard F. lives in
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 653
Chicago; ^^'illiam Orth is a farmer by occupation and cultivates a part of
the family homestead ; Dr. Oliver M., of this review, is the next in order of
birth, after whom is Mrs. Clara Yeager, widow of Dr. J. W. Yeager, of
Lafayette; Fannie, who married O. P. M. Jamison, lives in Portland, Oregon,
where her husband practices law. The following are the names of those de-
ceased: Abraham died at the age of thirty-eight; Felix was twenty years
old at the time of his death, and Nancy was called from earth at the tender
age of three years.
Dr. Nisley received his elementary education in the district schools, and
when Purdue University was opened for the reception of students he was one
of the eighteen who constituted the first class enrolled in that institution.
During his three and a half years' attendance at the university he paid his
own way by teaching, and after finishing his course he turned his attention
to educational work, which he followed with marked success for a period of
eight years, five in the common schools and three as principal of the school of
Linnwood. Having decided to make dentistry his life work, he resigned the
latter position at the expiration of the time indicated and began the study of
his profession in the office of Burt & Pattison, of Lafayette, with whom he
spent three years. He then entered the Baltimore College of Dental Surgery,
where for two years he applied himself closely to his studies, completing his
course and receiving his degree in the spring of 1889, immediately after
which he went to Peoria, Illinois, where he worked in an office about one
year, reducing his knowledge to practice and becoming familiar with the
principles of his profession. At the end of that time he was called home by
the death of his father, and after settling the latter's estate he located, in the
fall of 1889, in West Lafayette, where his professional ability was soon recog-
nized as the steady growth of his business abundantly attests. From the
beginning of his career to the present time his success has been most gratifying,
and as an efficient and skillful dentist, familiar with every phase of his pro-
fession and fully abreast of the times on all matters relating thereto, he oc-
cupies a conspicuous place among the leading men of his calling in the city,
besides being well known in professional circles throughout the state. He
is a member of the Lafayette Dental Association and the Dental Associa-
tion of Indiana and a regular attendant upon the sessions of these Ixidies,
availing himself of every opportunity they afiford of keeping in touch with
the latest discoveries and improvements in the line of his calling and taking
an active part in the discussion of various questions brought before them
for consideration. He also holds membership with the Pvthian order, in
which he takes a li\-ely interest, being influential in the regular lodge work
and a leader in the Uniform Rank of the brotherhood.
654 PAST AND PRESENT
Doctor Nisley was married, November 26, 1890, to Florence McCarty,
of Tippecanoe county, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. F. J. McCarty, of West
Lafayette, the father a retired farmer and a man of considerable local prom-
inence in the community where he formerly lived and where he now resides.
Mrs. Nisley has one brother, William R. McCarty, who lives in the country
and farms the home place. Doctor Nisley and wife are members of the West
Lafayette Baptist church and are deeply interested m the various lines of re-
ligious and charitable work under the auspices of the organization. As a
citizen the Doctor is energetic and public-spirited, encouraging all enterprises
for the advancement of the social and moral welfare of the community.
Christian Nisley, the Doctor's older brother, was a soldier in the late
Civil war and saw much active service during the four years he was at the
front. He enlisted early in the sixties in Company D, Fortieth Regiment
Indiana Volunteer Infantry, took part in a number of campaigns and battles
and was twice wounded and twice taken prisoner on account of his injuries.
He was in prison when the war closed and was one of the survivors of the
ill-fated "Sultana," which blew up near Memphis, on the Mississippi river,
when laden with soldiers returning home, a large number being killed or
drowned.
THOMAS WILSON LUGAR.
T. W. Lugar, one of the largest real estate dealers in Lafayette, in con-
nection with which he also does an extensive business in farm loans and insur-
ance, was born in Otterbein, Shelby township, Tippecanoe county, Indiana,
April 15, 1871. On the paternal side he is descended from German ances-
tors who emigrated to America at a very early period and settled in Vir-
ginia. His mother's people were among the pioneers of Tippecanoe county,
his grandfather, Thomas Ford, a well-to-do farmer and representative citizen,
locating many years ago in Shelby township, where he resided until his death
in 1905, at the advanced age of ninety years. Two of his sons, Elijah and
Henry C. Ford, served in the Civil war, and are now living in Wabash town-
ship, both prosperous mechanics and public-spirited men.
William Lugar, the subject's father, is a native of Grant county, Indi-
ana, and his mother, who bore the maiden name of Lurinda Jane Ford, was
born in the county of Huntington. These parents were married June 7, 1870,
in Grant county and during the seven years ensuing lived in that county, where
Mr. Lugar devoted his time to educational work, being then as now a capable
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND.
655
and popular teacher for whose services there was always a wide demand. At
the present time he resides in West Lafayette, though still engaged in his
profession and in point of continuous service he is now the oldest teacher m
the county, having devoted thirty-seven consecutive years to the work. Wil-
liam Lugar and wife have a family of five children, whose names are as fol-
lows: Thomas W., of this review; Vinette E., employed in the Lafayette
postoffice; Eva E. married Charles A. D:ivis, a letter c:irrier. in the city mail
service; John M., a farmer of Benton county, and Bert, a member of the
Ninth Battery United States Artillery, with which he recently completed three
years of service. During that time he was on duty along the Pacific coast and
from the date of his departure for the West until his return a few months
ago he neither visited his home nor saw any of his relatives.
Thomas W. Lugar was educated in the public schools of his native town-
ship and began life for himself as a farmer, which honorable vocation he fol-
lowed with fair success for several years. Discontinuing the pursuit of agri-
culture, he accepted the position of deputy recorder of Benton county and after
servmg lour years in that capacity came in 1899 to Lafayette and established
the real estate, loan and insurance business which he now carries on, opening
an office at No. 219 North Fourth street, which has become a favorite resort
for those who have dealings in his lines.
Mr. Lugar came to this city representing the A. Goodell & Sons Com-
pany of Loda, Illinois, and has since been associated with that well known and
prosperous firm. While dealing quite extensively in all kinds of real estate
and having a large and lucrative patronage in insurance, he makes a specialty
of farm loans in which he does a large volume of business. By honorable
methods and adhering to the policy of a "square deal,'' which his firm early
adopted as a cardinal principle, he has greatly extended his patronage which
now takes a wide range in Tippecanoe and neighboring counties, and in the
different lines represented he has little to fear from any of his competitors.
Mr. Lugar, on June 6, 1900, was united in marriage with Ada Pearl
Sense, daughter of William H. and Susan Sense, of Wabash township. She
was one of twelve children born to her father and mother whose names are
as follows: Elmer F., Harry C, Carrie (now deceased), Harvey G., Dora A.
(wife of C. E. Wakeman, of Millersburg, Indiana), Ottis G., Ella N., John
E., Ada P. (subject's wife), Jessie B., Earl C. and Ida M. This marriage
has been blessed with four offspring, namely: James T., Ethel Marie, Lolo
Lurinda and Susan Elizabeth, all living and adding greatly to the interest
and happiness of the home circle. In his religious faith Mr. Lugar subscribes
to the Alethodist creed, his wife being a Baptist in belief and an esteemed
656
PAST AND PRESENT
member of the church in \\'est Lafayette. Politically. ^Ir. Lugar is a stanch
Republican and manifests a lively interest in public affairs, contributing to
the success of his party by all honorable means at his command, but never
seeking office or leadership for himself. His fraternal relations include mem-
bership with Otterbein Lodge, No. 605, Independent Order of Odd Fellows,
and Purdue Grove, No. 18, Ancient Order of Druids, in both of which so-
cieties he has rendered efficient service and at intervals held important and
official positions.
OLIVER WEBSTER PEIRCE.
The family bearing this name has been closely identified with the history
of Lafayette for more than seventy-three years. During that long period the
name has been associated with many of the important industries and com-
mercial enterprises which have developed a modern, prosperous city from the
frontier village of the early days. Martin L. Peirce. the first of the family
to emigrate to Indiana, came to Lafayette from Parke county, this state, in
1836. when railroads were unknown in that far west. He was prominently
identified with the business interests of Lafayette for many years prior to his
demise, and the reader is referred to another page of this volume for the
more extended as well as interesting record of that distinguished pioneer
citizen.
Oliver W. Pierce, a son of the above-mentioned by adoption, was born
in Parke county, Indiana, January 8, 1829, and was about seven vears
old when he accompanied his father to Lafayette. This was in the days
prior to the establishment of the public school system in Indiana and the
early educational discipline of young Peirce was derived from attendance
upon the subscription schools of the day. He later attended the county
seminary, which was established during his boyhood, where he secured a
good education. It was the custom in those days for boys to start life early
and Oliver was only seventeen years old when he began his business career.
His father was a member of the commission firm of Hanna, Barbee & Com-
pany, whose business consisted in advancing money to grain dealers for
moving their crops, for which a commission was charged. The firm was
also extensively engaged in advancing money to pork packers throughout
the country. Oliver W. was given the position of receiving clerk, at a salary
of one hundred and fifty dollars per year, and at the end of the first year
he had saved forty-three dollars and desired to in\est the same on his own
-^^-(^
Jl^
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 657
account. With the consent of his father, he was given the use of a small
space in the company's building, where he erected some shelving, bought
coffee in New York, and began business for himself as O. W. Peirce &
Company, although he continued in the employ of the commission firm,
hiring a boy associate at twenty-five cents per day to look after his coffee
sales. This was in 1847, ^vhen the subject was only eighteen years of age.
During the epidemic of cholera, which raged at that time, prices on coffee
soared skyward and the young merchant reaped handsome profits from the
sale of that commodity. He continued trading in staples successfully, with
the result that his interests began to expand and assume pretentious propor-
tions, and it was soon necessary to devote his entire time to the business.
In December, 1849, he went on a trading trip to New Orleans, going by stage
to Indianapolis, by rail to Madison and by steamer down the Ohio. Arriv-
ing at Louisville he was obliged to remain there several days on account
of the river being frozen and navigation closed. Nothing daunted, however,
he finally secured passage by stage to Memphis, Tennessee, and a week later
was enabled to continue by boat on to his destination. In the southern city,
then the great emporium of the South, he purchased sugar, molasses and
coffee, which were shipped up the Mississippi river to the mouth of the Wa-
bash and thence by the latter stream to Lafayette. On returning home he
engaged in the wholesale trade, disposing of his goods to the retail mer-
chants. This proved to be the foundation of what has since developed into
one of the largest and most successful wholesale enterprises ever established
in Indiana. In the early days of the wholesale trade the staple line of
groceries was limited practically to sugar, molasses and coffee, with a little
tea and tobacco on the side. Since then it has gradually expanded until at
present a modern wholesale establishment, such as that conducted by O. W.
Peirce Company, embraces every variety of goods carried by a modern
retail store in the same line of trade. The roasting of coffee has also become
a very important part of this company's business. It is a package coffee
known as "Peirce's Golden Rio" and it is sold extensively in a number of
Northern and Southern states and has proven to be a verv popular brand, car
load after carload being shipped to various parts of the country. In fact,,
in the roasting of package coffee O. W. Peirce Company enjoys the prestige
of occupying fourth place among the largest concerns of the United States
in this line of industry. From seventy-five to eighty people find steady
employment with this concern and an average of fifteen traveling salesmen are
necessary to look after the business in the large scope of territory covered
by the firm. In order to meet the growing demands of modern business
(42)
658 PAST AND PRESENT
methods the O. W. Peirce Company was organized and incorporated July
30, 1904. with a capital stock of two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. The
officers of the company at the present time are as follows : O. W. Peirce,
Sr., president; O. \Y. Peirce, Jr., secretary, and E. R. Fielding, secretary.
The success which has attended the efiforts of Mr. Peirce during an
active business career in Lafayette of more than sixty years has been brought
about by close attention to business, a thorough knowledge of details in both
buying and selling and the possession of those faculties of rare foresight, dis-
crimination and conservatism. While the personnel of the firm has changed
a number of times, and from 1853 to 1856 it was known as Reynolds, Hatcher
& Peirce, the latter has always been the directing head and active manager
of the concern. Since fhe dissolution of the above named firm in 1856 the
business has been carried on under the name of O. W. Peirce & Company
until the recent incorporation of O. W. Peirce Company. The only partner
of our subject at the present time is his son, O. \\'. Peirce. Jr. The latter
is a man of excellent business qualifications, and having grown up in the busi-
ness he has mastered all the details which have made for success in the past
and having assumed the active management of the concern his future as well
as the successful continuance of the business is assured.
When in a reminiscent mood Mr. Peirce talks entertainingly of old
times in Lafayette, of which he has many instructive stories. He recalls
with pleasure his first trading trip to New Orleans in 1849, when he was
an inexperienced boy. Though ordinarily it could be made in ten days, this
trip consumed six weeks, owing to ice in the river which greatly interfered
with navigation. He made from one to three trips each year until the Civil
war came on and in all made fifty-two of these trading trips to New Orleans.
On more than one occasion he walked the greater portion of the distance.
In 1852 Mr. Peirce furnished the capital and Mr. Cherry the experience to
start a soap factory. It began in a small way in a frame building and made
soap, candles and lard oil. This was the forerunner of the present M. & J.
Schnaible factory, now located on the same site, which ships soap far and
wide. When Fort Sumter was fired upon, Mr. Peirce was in Baltimore and
the Maryland merchants were so frightened that he was enabled to purchase
quantities of merchandise at from a fifth to a fourth of the ordinary price.
During President Grant's administration Mr. Peirce's store was Republican
headquarters for a large scope of territory, but at the same time it was
generally understood that the discussion of such absorbing topics should
not interfere with business, for Mr. Peirce had stated frankly and plainly
that he was selling groceries, not politics.
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 659
As a business man Mr. Peirce has occupied a conspicuous place among
the successful merchants of Lafayette for many years, in fact he is one of
the oldest in point of continuous service in that city. Although he has
passed the eightieth milestone in life's journey, he is still hale and hearty and
active to a degree seldom attained by many men twenty or twenty-live years
his junior. In his political relations Mr. Peirce has always affiliated with
the Republican party since its organization, and while he has exhibited an
abiding interest in the success of its candidates he has never aspired to political
preferment. For more than forty years he has been a member of the First
Baptist church of Lafayette. During that period he has served in various
official capacities, was a member of the building committee at the time the
present church edifice was constructed and in many ways has contributed to
the advancement and welfare of the organization.
WILLIAM ROBINSON MOFFITT. M. D.
Distinguished as a physician and surgeon and holding worthy prestige
as a citizen, Dr. William R. Moffitt fills a large place in professional circles,
and for a number of years has been active in promoting the material advance-
ment of the city in which he resides and the social and moral progress of its
populace. He is a native and lifelong resident of Tippecanoe county and the
second of a family of seven children, whose parents, Benjamin Rush and
Clarissa Jane (Robinson) Moffitt, were also born in Indiana, the former in
Connersville, the latter on the old farm six miles west of Lafayette, which
was purchased from the government in pioneer times by William Robinson,
the Doctor's grandfather, and which in memory of him is still known as the
Robinson place. William Robinson and wife Matilda were among the first
permanent settlers of the locality indicated and the family has been actively
identified with that and other parts of the county from pioneer days to the
present time. Benjamin Rush Moffitt, who also came to Tippecanoe county
in an early day, was a prosperous farmer, a public-spirited citizen and a
veteran of the Civil war, enlisting at the beginning of the struggle in the
medical department of the Tenth Regiment Indiana Volunteer Infantry, witn
which he served about one and a half years, when he was discharged on
account of disability. He married Miss Robinson in Tippecanoe county,
reared a family of seven children, and departed this life, at the age of sixty-
five years, on his farm in Jasper county, Indiana. Their children are all
66o PAST AND PRESENT
living and highly esteemed in their respective places of residence, being well
situated as regards material means and popular among those with whom they
associate. Othniel. the oldest of the family, lives at Valparaiso, this state,
and deals quite extensively in produce; Olive M., the second in order of birth,
married William Jordan, an ex-soldier who died in 1906, since which time she
has made her home in Dephi. Dr. William R., of this review, is the third
in succession, after whom comes Mrs. Isabel Barcley, a widow who resides
in the city of Valparaiso ; Reuben R. and Richard are twins, the former en-
gaged in agricultural pursuits in northern Indiana, the latter living in La-
fayette; Mrs. Jennie Blake, the youngest of the family, lives in the northern
part of the state, where her husband is engaged in farming.
The subject's paternal grandfather. Dr. Joseph Moffitt, was a graduate
of Yale College and a physician of distinguished ability in his day. He served
as surgeon in the American army during the war of 1812, and was on Perry's
fleet in the battle of Lake Erie. Later he settled at Connersville, Indiana,
where he rose to a conspicuous position in his profession and became widely
and favorably known as an enterprising man of affairs. He died at that
place in the prime of his life and usefulness and left to his posterity a name
to which the passing years have added luster and renown. Dr. Joseph
Moffitt was a brother-in-law of Dr. O. L. Clark, one of the pioneer physicians
of Lafayette and a man of wide influence in the affairs of Tippecanoe county
in early times.
Dr. William R. Moffitt, a brief review of whose career appears in the
following lines, was born December 8, 1849, on the family homestead about
seven miles west of Lafayette, in Wabash township, and spent his early years
amid the attractive scenes and wholesome influences of rural life. He was
reared to habits of industry and, like the majority of country lads, learned by
practical experience the meaning of honest toil, working in the fields during
the spring and summer seasons and in the fall and winter months attending
the district schools in the vicinity of his home. In this way he spent his
time until twenty-one years of age, when he entered the Methodist College
at Ft. Wayne, of which his uncle, the Rev. R. D. Robinson, was then presi-
dent, and devoted the five years ensuing to close and critical study, making
rapid progress the meanwhile and taking high rank as a student. During
his last year in the above institution he read medicine in connection with his
other studies, his instructor being Dr. W. H. Myers, one of the leading
phvsicians of the city, under whose direction he was in due time enabled to
enter Ft. Wayne Medical College, where he took his first course of lectures.
Later, he prosecuted his studies at the Medical College of Indiana at Indian-
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 66l
apolis, where he was graduated in the year 1877, immediately after which
he returned to Tippecanoe county, where he opened an office in West La-
fayette, and has since practiced with eminent success, being at this time one
of the best known physicians and surgeons of the city and county.
Doctor Moffitt's large and steadily growing practice has been as suc-
cessful financially as professionally, and from time to time he has contributed
to the material part of Lafayette, in the way of buildings, including the large
two-story brick structure in which he has his office, the building being erected
especially for office purposes and being especially adapted and conceded to
be unequaled in this respect by any other in the city. He has also ac-
cumulated other valuable real estate both in the city and country, his resi-
dence properties in Lafayette alone being conservatively estimated at
$40,000, which, with various other holdings, represent a fortune of consider-
adle magnitude and make him one of the solid and well-to-do men of the
community.
Doctor Moffitt engaged in his life work well fitted for its many onerous
duties and responsibilities and has availed himself of every opportunity to keep
in touch with the trend of professional thought and abreast of the times in the
latest discoveries in medical science. He has never ceased being a student, and
when not engaged in active professional duties spends his time in his library
in communion with the greatest thinkers of the ages.
He is a member of the Indiana State Medical Association, the District
Medical Association, and the Medical Society of Tippecanoe County, in the
deliberations of which bodies he keeps himself well informed, and often con-
tributes to the papers, which elicit praise for his professional scholarship
and thought.
Actuated by a desire to fit himself for the greatest possible efficiency, the
Doctor some years ago entered the Polyclinic Hospital School of Medicine
in Chicago, from which he received a diploma in 1897, and in 1900 he was
graduated from the Post-Graduate School of Medicine of New York city, thus
leaving nothing undone in the way of making himself a true healer of suffer-
ing humanity. He has been one of the medical staff of physicians at St.
Elizabeth's Hospital for over twenty-five years and served one term as county
coroner, though never an office seeker and having little taste for public life.
On September 14, 1882, Doctor Moffitt was united in the bonds of wed-
lock with Alice S. Robinson, who, though of the same name as his mother's
before her marriage, is in no wise related to the latter. Mrs. Moffitt's father,
Horney Robinson, was a pioneer of Allen county. Indiana, locating near Ft.
Wayne about the year 1829. and taking an active interest in the development
662 PAST AND PRESENT
and growth of the part of the country in which he settled. Mrs. Moffitt was
reared and educated in Allen county and Ft. Wayne, and is a woman of ex-
cellent character and always manifests an abiding interest in the welfare of
those with whom she mingles and moves in the best society circles of West La-
fayette. Doctor and Mrs. Moffitt have one child, Bertha J., whose birth oc-
curred on November 8, 1883, and who received a liberal education, graduating
in due time from the West Side high school and from Purdue University
with the class of 1906. In his political affiliations the Doctor has been a
lifelong Republican, and since attaining his majority an influential and leading
member of the party. For a number of years he has been an active worker
for the success of his party and candidates, attending the various nominating
conventions, local, district and state, in all of which his opinions command re-
spect and his judgment weight.
GEORGE LAWSON BRUCE.
George L. Bruce, dealer in musical instruments and one of the most
accomplished musicians of Lafayette, is a native of Indiana, born in Jasper
county on the 21st day of June, 1852. Lawson Bruce, his father, was a
New Englander and a descendant of an old Vermont family, and his mother,
whose maiden name was Sarah Pyke, came from Pennsylvania. The Pyke
family moved to Indiana in an early day and were among the pioneers of
Tippecanoe county, in various parts of which descendants still reside. The
Bruces were also early comers to this part of the state and the above parents
grew to maturity and were married in Lafayette and lived here a number of
years, subsequently removing to Rensselaer, Jasper county, where Mr. Bruce
spent the remainder of his days. His widow survived him some years and
departed this life in the month of February, 1904. The family of this couple
consisted of three children, of whom the subject is the only son and the third
in order of birth.
George Lawson Bruce was brought to Lafayette when a child, from which
time to the present his life has been closely identified with the city. The public
schools which he attended during his childhood and youth afiforded him the
means of obtaining a practical education, and while still young he accepted a
clerkship in a music store, where he remained until acquiring a knowledge of
the business and becoming quite skilled in the use of several kinds of instru-
ments. In 1875 he severed his connection with his employer to become man-
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 663
ager of another firm of the same kind and after serving six years in that
capacity he purchased the stock and established the business which he has since
conducted and which under his capable management has grown into the largest
and best known music house in the city.
Mr. Bruce has been at his present location since 1875 and sole proprietor
of the establishment since 1890. As indicated above, his career presents a
series of continued successes such as few achieve and the high position to which
he has attained in the business world is due entirely to his own efforts, as he
began life for himself in the modest capacity of a clerk and on becoming pro-
prietor had much with which to contend ere finding his feet on sohd financial
ground. Early in his experience Mr. Bruce determined to master the under-
lying principles of business and, having decided upon the line most suited to
his tastes and inclinations, he spared no reasonable effort in acquiring a knowl-
edge of music and the ability to reduce the same to practice. While still a
youth he manifested a decided aptitude for music and after entering the store
it was not long until he became an efficient performer on the various kinds
of instruments in stock. Later he prosecuted his musical studies under in-
structors of recognized ability and, applying himself closely, he became in due
time one of the most skillful musicians in Lafayette as well as one of the most
successful dealers in the same. He carries full lines of all kinds of instru-
ments and musical merchandise, which he buys direct, owning the large stock
which he always has on hand. His business has grown to such large pro-
portions that he now employs in addition to several clerks in the house three
salesmen who represent his goods on the road and who during the past few
years have built up and greatly extended his trade. His establishment has a
large and lucrative local patronage also, while the demand for his goods by
the general trade in many other cities and towns throughout Indiana and
neighboring states taxes the capacity of his house to supply, besides giving a
wide and enviable reputation in musical as well as business circles.
While a skillful performer on several kinds of instruments, Mr. Bruce
is especially efficient as a pianist and organist. For thirty-five consecutive
years he presided at the organ in Trinity Methodist Episcopal church and
could have retained the position indefinitely had he so desired, but recently,
much against the wishes of the congregation and greatly to their disappoint-
ment, he declined to remain longer, deeming almost a lifetime of service in
furnishing music for public worship sufficient to entitle him to the rest which
he so ably and conscientiously earned.
Mr. Bruce and family are Methodists and regular attendants of Trinity
church, with which they are identified and which the subject served so long
664 PAST AXD PRESENT
and faithfully as organist. He is a member of the official board of said
church, and at different times has held various other official positions in the
organization, besides being a liberal contributor to its support and a donor to
all worthy enterprises and humanitarian measures. Politically he votes the
Republican ticket, but has never held an elective office, having little taste for
public life and less for the chicanery and trickery which are sometimes neces-
sary in order to attain positions at the hands of one's fellow citizens. Mr.
Bruce is an enthusiastic friend of fraternal work and belongs to several orders
based on the principle of secrecy. He is a Mason of high degree, holding
membership with Lafayette Lodge, No. 123, Chapter No. 3, Royal Arch
Masons. Commandery No. 3, Knights Templar, and Hope Chapter No. 5,
Order of Eastern Star. He is also identified with Lodge No. 55, Independent
Order of Odd Fellows, and Lodge Xo. 143. Benevolent and Protective Order
of Elks, in both of which as well as in the Masonic brotherhood he has been
chosen to positions of honor and trust.
BRAINARD HOOKER.
Brainard Hooker was born at Nugent Hollow, in Vanderburg county,
about eight miles from Evansville, Indiana, September 18, 1868. Henry H.
Hooker, his father, is a physician who has won a high reputation as an ob-
stetrician. He took the degree of Doctor of Medicine from Rush Medical
College in the early sixties. He earlier taught in the primitive district
schools. He is the son of one Thomas Hooker, who came to Evansville at
an early day from South Carolina and who is a descendant of Rev. Thomas
Hooker, of Hartford. Connecticut. With but one known exception, all the
Hookers of America and England are related. Gen. Joseph Hooker, of the
Civil war. Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker, the English botanist, and Richard
Hooker, the theologian, are members of the family. One family at least of
German origin now uses the name of Hooker in America, the German name
having been Hoockards. Perhaps the economy in using the shorter name is
the reason for the change of spelling. A study of the origin of names would
lead one to conclude that as Fisher named the man for his occupation, so the
Hookers in early times in England were the lovers of the rod and line.
The subject's mother was Mary H. (Headen) Hooker, daughter of
Thomas Headen and Mary Nugent, who brought her and two other daughters
and two sons from Ireland. The familv settled on the Ohio river at the vil-
BRAINARD HOOKER
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 665
lage of Evansville, which was then composed of a few log huts. The father
was a grocer for a time, then he bought Nugent Hollow, still owned by the
Rev. H. S. Headen, of New Albany, the youngest child of the family. Mary
was a babe a few weeks old when the trip was made across the Atlantic
in a small sail boat. Her schooling was received in the district school, and
part of a year was spent in Madison University, where Anna, her older
sister, had been graduated. The Civil war called her brothers, Thomas and
Robert, to the field of battle, and as her father had died some years before,
she was, with the other girls of the family, called upon to work on the farm
in the summer and teach in the winter to support the family. She was mar-
ried to Henry Hamilton Hooker in 1867, and she died of a complication of
diseases in August, 1899.
There were eight children in the family of Henry and Mary Hooker,
and the parents fancied the use of but one name for each of their children.
Brainard, the eldest, was named for one of the Doctor's college professors
Sherry, the second child, for the Sherrys, relatives of the Headens. Maggie
for her aunt Maggie Headen Hooker, wife of Prof. R. P. Hooker, of Evans-
ville. Mabel, a name euphonious. Kitty, for her aunt Kate Headen Stafford
DeKress, for a widely known German physician and scientist, Oscar DeKress
Doctor of Medicine, of Evansville. Ross, for the former editor of the To
ledo Blade. The baby of the family was named for her Aunt Anna. It
will be observed that the boys were given family names for Christian names.
Of these children, five survive in 1909.
The subject of this sketch began his schooling in a little frame school
house in the village of Elberfeld, a Dutch village in Warrick county, seven-
teen miles from Evansville on the old Straight Line road. He attended school
under the instruction of Lewis Kemper, Mary Wagoner and D. S. Johnson.
It was while in school here that Mr. Hooker conceived the idea that he wished
to be a teacher. He attended every teacher's institute that was held in the
village school. They furnished him renewed inspiration. When he was
fourteen years old, the father bought and moved to a farm near Oakdam, in
Vanderburg county. Here, owing to an accident, Brainard lost one year's
schooling. The father had a limb broken and the oldest boys had to care
for the stock. He attended the Oakdam school for one year under the in-
struction of D. S. Johnson. The following year he graduated in the eighth
grade at McCutchanville, and entered the high school at the same place in
the fall, completing the course offered in two years. Here he was under the
tuition of a highly cultured and educated aunt.
666 PAST AND PRESENT
In February, 1886, Mr. Hooker made his trial license under Ernest D.
McAvoy, the county superintendent, and in April he secured a twehe-months
license.
J. C. Calvert, the trustee of Armstrong township, employed Mr. Hooker
to teach No. 7 school, in the southwest corner of his township. Here the
chief task was to teach German-speaking children to speak English. The
task was complicated, for Mr. Hooker had learned Plattdeutsch at Elberfeld,
and these children spoke Hochdeutsch. He must learn the High German
to be better able to teach English. He boarded with one Nicholas Wolf,
who took a delight in helping the young pedagogue to the use of German.
The year's work was satisfactory to the officials and the young teacher was
promised a larger, better school and one nearer his home. With these reflec-
tions, he began his professional training in De Pauw University. With
one term's preparation under the guidance of W. H. Mace and Arnold
Tompkins, the year following was more successful. The years 1887 ^^^
1888 were spent at Armstrong Station school. The fourth year's work was
done at Theil school, still nearer home. The young teacher had now done
four terms' work in the normal department at DePauw University and had
had four years' experience in the district schools of his native county. In
the fall of 1890 he followed Arnold Tompkins to the Indiana State Normal
School (the normal department at DePauw having been closed by order of
the trustees), and from this school he was graduated in June, 1893.
On the 17th day of August, 1893, Mr. Hooker was married to Eva A.
McCutchan at her father's home near Oakdam. Miss McCutchan was the
daughter of John T. and Nancy M. (Covey) McCutchan. Mr. McCutchan is
the son of a large landholder, Thomas McCutchan, who came to America
from Ireland in the early days of Indiana's history. Mrs. McCutchan is of
French descent, through the Le Count family on her mother's side of the
house. Eva Hooker was graduated from the common schools in her native
county, Vanderburg, and was for a time a student at Princeton College. She
taught school three years. Mrs. Hooker is a vocalist of no mean attainments.
Soon after the wedding the bride and groom went to Mt. Vernon, Indi-
ana, to live, where Mr. Hooker had been employed in the high school as one
of the instructors. Here he taught for two years, associated with E. G.
Bauman, the present superintendent of the Mt. Vernon schools, and Edwin
S. Monroe, the superintendent of the Muskogee schools, Oklahoma. W'hile
living here their daughter Maurine came into the family.
During the next three years the family lived at Rochester, Indiana,
where Mr. Hooker was principal of the high school and head of the depart-
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 66/
ment of English. Here Helen, the second girl, was born and Harold Mace,
the first boy. The next move was to Indiana University, where Mr. Hooker
felt the need of additional college work. After completing two terms' work,
he and his wife and daughter Helen were taken down with typhoid fever,
which exhausted the strength and exchequer of the family so completely that
the pursuit of the long-hoped-for degree was abandoned.
In the spring of 1900 Mr. Hooker was called to the State Normal at
Terre Haute to teach English grammar for the term, under the direction of
J. B. Wisely, author of a well-known book on that subject. While at the
normal he was appointed principal of the high school at Dayton, this county,
James McDowell being the trustee at the time of the appointment. In 1901,
Lucien B. O'Dell, who recently died at Brazil, and who was then superinten-
dent of the Thorntown schools, called Mr. Hooker to assist him as principal
of the high school. At the close of the year, Mr. Hooker returned to Dayton
at an increased salary and the promise of an assistant in the high school. With
the work increased to four years, an effort was made to commission the
school, but a lack of co-operation on the part of the officials caused the proj-
ect to be delayed until 1909. While living in Dayton, John Gordon, Mary
and Gilbert Merrill came into the family.
In 1906, Superintendent E. W. Lawrence called Mr. Hooker to the
principalship of the West Lafayette high school. In this school he was
assisted by L. A. Scipio, now of Nebraska University, lone Beem, Viletta
Baker and Daphne Kieffer. This was the first year in the handsome new
high school building, and to give some token of appreciation the school gave
an art exhibit, the proceeds of which, amounting to nearly a hundred dollars,
was put into fine reproductions of famous paintings which now adorn the
walls of the assembly room.
After a three-days campaign, at 10 o'clock, June 4, 1907, Mr. Hooker
was elected to the office of county superintendent for a term of four years.
Mr. Hooker is one of the men in the field of public school work who think
that the business of teaching should be dignified into a profession. He dis-
likes the spirit that has dominated the business especially among men which
makes teaching a step to something "better," and he has labored to eradicate
the defect.
At the age of sixteen years, Mr. Hooker became a member of the Meth-
odist Episcopal church at Blue Grass and he and his wife have been active
members of the churches where they have lived, usually singing in the choir.
Mrs. Hooker singing soprano and Mr. Hooker tenor. Soon after he was
twenty-one years old he became a member of Corypheus Lodge No. 180,
668 PAST AXD PRESENT
Knights of Pythias, at Cynthiana, Posey cmmty, and is an officer of Sheffield
Lodge No. 414, at Dayton. At the age of forty he became a Freemason,
belonging to Dayton Lodge, Xo. 103, Free and Accepted Masons.
HARRY ^LADISON SNIDEMAN.
The subject of this sketch enjoys distinctive prestige in a profession
which requires of those who adopt it a strong mentality and painstaking
preparation together with a natural aptitude for its duties and responsi-
bilities in order to achieve success. Many enter it allured by promise of rapid
advancement and early distinction only to fall disheartened by the wayside:
others under favorable auspices pursue it for a brief season to find themselves
crowded aside by the more worthy and ambitious, thus affording a striking
instance of the law of the survival of the fittest ; while the true searcher after
legal lore and the ability to apply his knowledge to the adjustment of human
difficulties and mete out justice to offenders is the one who perseveres despite
discouragement until reaching the goal, which is accessible only to the com-
petent and deserving, to which class the subject of this review belongs, as his
continuous advancement and present high standing abundantly attest.
Harry M. Snideman is a native of Tippecanoe county, Indiana, and dates
his birth from September 20, 1871, having first seen the light of day on the
family homestead in Wabash township, where his parents settled some years
before. Samuel Snideman, the subject's father, was born in Montgomery
county, Ohio, and has been an honored resident of Tippecanoe county for
many years. He is a farmer and gardener and, despite his seventy-three years,
is still actively engaged in those vocations on his beautiful farm and attractive
rural home one mile west of Purdue University. Sarah Smith, who on May
10, 1859, became the wife of Samuel Snideman, is a native of Fayette county,
Indiana, and it was only recently that this venerable and highly respected
couple celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of their married life. When a young
man Mr. Snideman learned carpentry, which he followed until about thirty
years old, when he discontinued the trade to become a tiller of the soil. His
father, David Snrdeman. was born in Germany, but at the age of twelve
years came to the United States and grew to maturity in Ohio. Later he
moved to Miami county, Indiana, where he engaged in the pursuit of agri-
culture, and wh.ere his d.eath finally occurred, after he had reached the ripe old
age of ninety-one years. On the maternal side the subject traces one branch
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 669
of his family to France, but his ancestors came to this country so long ago
that all or nearly all of the characteristics of that nationality have disappeared
during the intervening years. Samuel and Sarah Snideman are the parents
of three children, namely : Oscar M., electrical engineer employed by the In-
diana Lighting Company, of Lafayette, married Harretta Rosa, and to tliis
union two daughters were born, May and Avanella; William O., a carpenter
and farmer living two and one-half miles south of Lafayette, married Lutitia
V. Emerson, to which union four children were born. Bertha Hope, now
deceased, Robert E., ]\Iary Belle and Hobart; the subject of this sketch is
the third in order of birth and the youngest of the family.
Harry M. Snideman spent his early years amid the quiet rural scenes
of the home farm and was reared to habits of industry and thrift in the fields,
attending the district schools of Wabash township when his services were
not otherwise required. He continued his studies until finishing the common
school course, receiving a certificate of graduation from the Dayton schools
in 1891, after which he entered Union Business College in Lafayette, from
which he graduated in the year 1892. Later, in 1895, he became a student
of the Northern Lidiana Normal School at Valparaiso, Indiana, and after a
year's work in that institution began teaching, which calling he followed for a
period of five years in the schools of Wabash township, during which time his
spare time was spent in reading law. Two of his vacations were spent in the
law office of George D. Parks, the present county attorney, under whose in-
struction he made such progress as to enable him to be admitted to the bar
in September, 1900.
Mr. Snideman began the practice of his profession in Lafayette. In
August, 1902, he formed a partnership with Charles M. Bright, which part-
nership continued until December, 1904, when ]\Ir. Bright was obliged to
change climate for the benefit of his health. The partnership was then dis-
sohi-ed, I\Ir. Snideman purchasing his partner's interest and has since continued
the practice alone. He has built up a large and lucrative practice and gained
an honorable reputation as an able and energetic lawyer. He has also been
active in political affairs, both local and general, and his influence in the coun-
cils of the Republican party has given him prestige and leadership such as
few of his contemporaries have attained. He is an enthusiastic politician, a
forcible and logical speaker and his services on the hustings are always in great
demand during campaign years, as he is a master of assemblages and never
fails to interest and influence his auditors. He was twice a candidate before
the primaries for the office of prosecuting attorney, but by a combination of
circumstances, so common to politics, failed both times to receive the nom-
6/0
PAST AND PRESENT
ination, his defeats, however, causing no cessation of his interest in behalf of
the more fortunate candidates.
On June 26, 1907, Mr. Snideman was united in marriage to Julia Weber,
of Lafayette, daughter of Jacob and Sophia Weber. Mrs. Snideman is an
intelligent and cultured lady of excellent character and high social standing,
who has many friends in the city and enjoys great popularity among those
with whom she associates.
Fraternally Mr. Snideman is a member of Friendship Lodge, No. 22, In-
dependent Order of Odd Fellows, which he joined on January 14, 1898, and
since his membership has been an active and enthusiastic member, filling all the
official chairs in the subordinate lodge and in 1900 was a representative of his
lodge to the grand lodge of Indiana, of which body he is also a member. He
is also a trustee of his lodge, having been at the time of his election the young-
est man to be honored with the position. In matters religious. Mr. Snide-
man is liberal in all the term implies. He does not hold membership with
any church, but is a liberal contributor to the support of the gospel and is a
friend of all charitable and benevolent enterprises and a liberal donor to hu-
manitarian movements of whatever name or order. Mrs. Snideman is a mem-
ber of Triumph Rebekah Lodge, No. 291, of which lodge she is an enthusi-
astic worker : her nature is deeply religious and since her childhood she has
been identified with the Salem Reformed church, in which she is an active
worker.
HARRY EDWARD TITUS, D. V. S.
To be anything but mediocre in any profession requires not only a happy
combination of natural faculties, but also a strong personality, a blending of
courtesy and affability and certain business qualities that no discouragements
can thwart. The well-known veterinary surgeon whose name forms the cap-
tion of this article, and whose name has long since become a household word
throughout Tippecanoe county, seems to possess these traits, for he has
climbed, step by step, from a modest beginning to a position of prominence in
his community through no outside assistance.
Harry Edward Titus was born in 1876 at Muscatine, Iowa, the son of
Harrison S. Titus, who is also a veterinarian. The latter married Catherine
Walsh, and they are both natives of Wisconsin, and people who command the
unequivocal respect of all who know them. After finishing the common-
school course, young Harry attended high school, later took a course in the
TIPPECANOE COUNTY. IN D. 67 I
Iowa State College, veterinary department, graduating from the same in 1898.
having made a most commendable record and well equipping himself for his
profession. He has been greatly aided by his father, who is a very skilled
veterinary surgeon, consequently it is not strange that the subject should
achieve success in his chosen calling while yet a young man. Another son
of Dr. Harrison S. Titus is also a veterinary surgeon in Baxter, Iowa.
A criterion of Dr. Harry E. Titus's high standing in this profession is
furnished by the fact that in 1899, the year following his graduacion. he held
the responsible position in the Iowa State College as house surgeon and dem-
onstrator of anatomy, also taught the principles and practice of operative
surgery. He had received practical experience all through his college course,
consequently he was enabled to render entire satisfaction in this work, receiv-
ing the hearty commendation of both faculty and students.
Early in 1900 Doctor Titus was appointed government inspector in the
bureau of animal industry at Cincinnati, Ohio, but he did not accept the place,
believing that a better field awaited him in the city of Lafayette, whither he
came May 30, 1900, and soon thereafter began the practice of his profession.
He purchased a half interest in the veterinary infirmary owned by Doctor
Craig, on Main street, west of the river. Having been successful in this
venture, he bought out Doctor Craig's interest about the ist of July, 190 1,
and has since conducted the infirmary in his own name. It is the only one
of its kind in Tippecanoe county and is conceded to be one of the finest in
Indiana. Doctor Titus is constantly improving his hospital and his practice
is steadily increasing.
On May 22, 1907, Doctor Titus was united in marriage with Margaret
Littler, a native of Indiana, but who was residing in Chicago, a trained nurse
in a hospital, when they were married. She is a well educated woman and is
of great assistance to the Doctor in his work.
Doctor Titus was city veterinarian in Lafayette for two years, very
creditably filling this office. He is a member of the American Veterinary
Association, the Indiana Veterinary Medical Association, and an honorary
member of the Iowa Veterinary Medical Association. On July 11, 1905, he
was appointed delegate to represent the L'uited States at the eighth Interna-
tional Veterinary Congress held at Budapest, Austria, September 3, 1905.
having been appointed to this important duty by the state department at Wash-
ington. In his fraternal relations the Doctor belongs to the Benevolent and
Protective Order of Elks, also the Knights of Pythias. He is a man of impos-
ing personal appearance, quick in his decisions, alert, friendly and obligino-,
consequently he is favorably known alx>ut town.
672 PAST AND PRESENT
ALVA O. RESER.
Hon. Alva O. Reser, ex-member of the Indiana state legislature, who
is the present efficient county recorder and official court reporter and stenog-
rapher for the courts of Tippecanoe county, was born near Stockwell, Tippe-
canoe county, Indiana, November 17, 1859, a son of Harvey and Sarah
(Waymire) Reser. He was educated in the public schools of his native
county and at Purdue University, Lafayette. After fully qualifying himself
for the duties of an educator and business man, he followed teaching for a
time; he taught in the district schools of Wea township, this county, at
Spring Grove, after which he was made principal of the Lafayette Business
College, where he taught one year and then became the principal of the
Oakland school at Lafayette, which position he held with much credit to
himself and the school board who employed him. He taught in this city school
for three years. He was also made instructor in stenography in the Lafay-
ette Business College and held this position for fifteen years.
Politically, Mr. Reser is an uncompromising Republican and is an ef-
fective, forcible campaigner in this section of Indiana. He represented his
county in the Indiana legislature in the sessions of 1899 and 1901. in the
house of representatives, and was chairman of the committee on education
during his last term. He was the official stenographer for the United States
government at the Anglo-American Joint High Commission, held at Quebec,
Canada, in 1898; special stenographer for Hon. Charles F. Fairbanks, then
candidate for Vice-President, in the campaign of 1904, and for the news-
paper press of the country. Being an expert stenographer, he was selected
as court reporter, and it is the opinion of the court officers of his district,
including the judges, that he is among the most rapid and accurate reporters
within the state of Indiana. He was elected as clerk of the Lafayette school
board in 1883, serving until 1909, during which long period he has kept the
books of that body in a model manner and has always been deeply interested
in the educational interests and favored all needed improvements in the
management of the school system of his city. He was elected county
recorder of Tippecanoe county in November, 1906, taking his office January
I, 1907, to serve until January i, 191 1. In this special role, the methods
and order with which he has managed other public affairs is also manifest —
his offices and books are all neatly arranged and properly cared for by him-
self and a highly competent corps of assistants, in whom the public have the
utmost confidence.
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 673
Mr. Reser has been very active in campaign wrork in his party
and delivered speeches and fairly presented the issues before the voters of his
county from time to time; also delivered popular lectures now and then.
He is a true commoner and, by reason of his nativity and public life, has
become acquainted with every nook and corner within Tippecanoe county,
as well as being personally acquainted with nearly all of the people within
its borders. He was naturally selected as the secretary of the Tippecanoe
^Monument Association, which organization was active in forwarding the
project that finally resulted in the erecting of the handsome monument to
the memory of the heroes who lost their lives in the famous battle of Tippe-
canoe. He also compiled the report of the Alonument Commission, which
was published and handsomely bound in book form under authority of the
state. This book is a collection of the various reports and orations delivered
at the unveiling of the monument in 1908. No better man could have been
chosen to do this work, because of his interest in the project and his historical
information, having made this subject a special study for many years. In
civic society affairs, Mr. Reser is identified with the Knights of Pythias;
also belongs to the Greek letter college fraternity, Sigma Chi.
Of Mr. Reser's domestic relations, let it be said that he was happily
united in marriage to Elizabeth A. Smith, August 13, 1885. By this union
two sons were born (twins), Roy M. and Ralph D. Reser, born October 27,
1888. In personal appearance, Mr. Reser is a man of strong athletic build,
loving out-door sports as one of nature's noblemen. His hair is somewhat
gray, slightly bald, a pleasing twinkle to his eyes, smooth face and possesses
an affable disposition. He loves his fellow-men and remembers names, places
and faces to a remarkable degree. He is methodical and accurate and a good
reader of human nature, eminent in many lines of life and education. In his
penmanship he is a beautiful writer, having taught both ornamental and
business penmanship in the Lafayette Business College.
DR. JOHN COLBERT WEBSTER.
.Among the older physicians of Lafayette, Indiana, none is better kmuvn
nor has a wider acquaintance throughout western Indiana and Tippecanoe
county than Dr. John C. Webster. He was born in the village of Romney,
Tippecanoe county, Indiana, on September 29, 1841, and is a son of Elijah
and Xancv ( Stewart) Webster, \^'illiam Webster, the grandfather, migrated
'(43)
674 PAST AND PRESENT
from Canada to near Rumney in 1825 and entered government land. He
married a native Canadian and was the father of the following children :
Elijah, William, Mary, Sarah, Phcebe and Rachel. The family, with the
exception of Mary, went with their parents to Tippecanoe county where they
lived many years, the father passing away on the old homestead. He was
noted as a man prominent in state affairs and for his unbending religious
views, being a Quaker and strict in all his ways. Elijah married Xancy
Stewart, and to them fi\e children were born: ]\Iary A., wife of W^illiam
Ross : John C. ; Margaret, who married George Oglesby : Anna, who married
Edward W. Throckmorton : Elizabeth, who died in childhood.
John C. Webster was reared upon his father's farm and attended the
district school and also Sugar Grove Institute, which was an institution
similar to our present high school. At the breaking out of the Civil war he
enlisted, on October 15. 1861. in Company G. Fortieth Regiment. Indiana
Volunteer Infantry, which was a veteran organization, and was mustered
into the services of the United States for three years at Lafayette. Indiana,
on December 10, 1861, as a sergeant, and in the course of time was finally
commissioned a second lieutenant, his commission bearing the date of May
I, 1863. He was mustered out of service as a lieutenant in 1864. Mr.
Webster took part in the bloody battle of Shiloh. and after being away on a
sick leave he rejoined his regiment at Tullahoma. Tennessee, and accompanied
it to Louisville. Kentucky, where the command under General Buell was
pursuing General Bragg's forces. He took part in the battle of Perryville
on October 8th, and after his return to Nashville he participated in the ad-
vance on Murfreesboro, Stone River, Lavergne and other battles. After
Murfreesboro he remained with his regiment until January. 1863. when, on
the reorganization of the army, the Fortieth was assigned to the First Divi-
sion, Twenty-first Army Corps. The regiment took part in many
notable campaigns, including service in the Tullahoma advances, also at
Liberty Gap and on post duty at Chattanooga. Tennessee. Mr. Webster also
saw service at Orchard Knob and during the siege of Chattanooga and again
at Missionary Ridge, where his regiment took an active part. It was in this
engagement that he receivetl a wound in the head while leading his men in
the charge of Mission Ridge. This wound incapacitated him from active
dutv for a time. He recovered and started to rejoin his command, then in
eastern Tennessee, when it was attacked by a force of cavalry under General
Wheeler. \\'hile in camp Mr. Webster was seized with a severe case of
ervsipekis and ordered back to Chattanooga by the surgeons in charge. In
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 675
1864 he re-enlisted with his regiment, as a veteran, and then returned home
on a furlough. When his command moved to the south he accompanied
it and saw some lively serxice. The regiment was stationed at Cleveland,
Tennessee, when the Atlanta campaign opened. The Fortieth Regiment was
assigned to the Second Brigade, Second Division. Fourth Army Corps, and
was also continuously engaged during that memorable campaign, being active
at Tunnel Hill, Buzzard Roost, Liberty Gap, Rockyface Ridge, Resaca,
Adairsville, Cassville and other engagements around Dallas, New Hope
Church, Pumpkinville Creek and Altoona Hills. Also at Picketts and in opera-
tions about Marietta and against Kenesaw Mountain, June 9th to 27th, includ-
ing the fights at Pine Hill, Lost Mountain, Muddy Creek, Pine Knob, and the
asasult on Kenesaw Mountain on June 27th. Here Lieutenant Webster was
wounded in both legs, and this was the last fight in which he participated. The
battle was a desperate affair and his command was exposed to a galling fire,
both front and flank, and fully forty-six per cent, of his command was lost.
Lieutenant Webster, though seriously wounded and lying on the field unattend-
ed, knew that if he was taken prisoner he would be neglected and probably die,
and he determined to escape if possible. He managed to get upon his feet
and was at once made a target for the enemy's bullets. One bail ripped his
coat across the shoulders and others pierced his clothing otherwise, but he
managed to get away without further injury. He was ill from his wounds
until October, 1864, when he was mustered out on account of disability.
Upon his return home the subject began the study of medicine and was
graduated from the Rush Medical College of Chicago in 1870, and began the
practice of his profession at Romney, Tippecanoe county, where he met with
marked success. In 1880 he removed to Lafayette w^here he has continued
his practice. Doctor Webster has been recognized as a physician of ability
and he has served on the state board of medical registration and examination
since 1897. He has also served as a member of the pension board, and has
been a member of the Grand Army of the Republic and Loyal Legion, and
always taken a deep and abiding interest in his old comrades in arms.
Doctor Webster was married to Sallie MacMechan Jones June 15, 1876.
She is a daughter of Dr. Stephen Jones, who was a graduate of the medical
school of Harvard College. Doctor Jones removed West and started to
practice medicine, but not liking the practice entered business and w^as noted
as a financier. His daughter was educated in the common schools and was also
a student in an Indianapolis institution. To Doctor Webster and wife was
born one daughter, Mary E., in 1887.
676 PAST AND PRESENT
Fraternally, Dr. John \\'ebster is a Mason and has attained the degree of
Knight Templar. In politics he is an ardent Republican and has twice been
elected trustee of Randolph township, Tippecanoe county. He is known as a
kind, warm-hearted man and an honored citizen of the county and city in
which he lives.
FREDERICK HENRY ERB, JR.
When Napoleon was carrying on his destructive and spectacular wars,
there was a young Frenchman in the ranks by the name of Frederick Henry
Erb, who served as a sharpshooter, both in Europe and Africa. When peace
followed the overthrow of the great commander, Erb emigrated to America,
where he became both the pioneer and champion in the new art of pigeon
shooting. He arranged a match with William King, the English champion,
ofifering the latter a bonus to come over and contest honors with him. The
stakes were two thousand five hundred dollars a side, and Erb won. In a
great match in Tippecanoe county, at the old homestead of John Opp, Erb
shot with Jack Taylor, of New Jersey, for one thousand dollars a side and
would have won but for the breaking of his gun which compelled him. to use
a strange weapon which caused his defeat. Full five thousand spectators
witnessed this match. He was greatly interested in horse racing, and built the
first track for this purpose in Tippecanoe county on the old Doyle farm.
While the Union Pacific railroad was being built he engaged in supplying
constructors with game for food. When he died in April, 1905, he was esti-
mated to have been one hundred and six years old. He married a French
lady named Mary Roller, who was brought to Lafayette by her father, who
was also a remarkable sample of longevity, it being calculated that when he
died in 1864 he was one hundred and twenty years old.
Frederick Henry Erb, Jr., son of this French couple, was born at Lafay-
ette, Indiana, August 16, 1856, and inherited the genius of his father for
sports and marksmanship. When only eight years old he was sent to Lex-
ington, Kentucky, as a rider of running horses. He became famous as a
jockey and before he was eighteen years old had bestrode many celebrities
of the turf, including such winners as Rambler, Prairie Boy, Silver Tail, Bull
of the Woods and Gypsy. His talent for marksmanship gave him even
greater fame than that achieved as the successful rider of thoroughbreds. So
early as the age of twelve he was regarded as a phenomenon with a gun and
while riding the circuit of running horses his father often backed him in live
pigeon matches in which he scored signal victories. He challenged the re-
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 677
doubtable Captain Bogardus, in March, 1880, at that time the champion all-
around shot of the world. The match came off at St. Joseph, Missouri, and
attracted national attention in sporting circles. Bogardus killed eighty-three
birds to Erb's ninety-three, the latter being given the benefit of two yards,
or twenty-eight to Bogardus' thirty. They met again at Lafayette on Jan-
uary 14, 1888, when Bogardus retired after shooting ninetj'-three, with seven
dead birds out of bounds. Erb lost six dead out of bounds, and the nineteenth
bird flew away hard hit. He killed his last sixty-four straight, which caused
Captain Bogardus to give him credit for making the best run ever made by
any man in the world. He declared enthusiastically that his rival was the best
shot he ever saw. April 7, 1888, Mr. Erb gave more remarkable evidence of
his skill in a three-days shoot at flying targets, sixteen yards rise, he standing
eighteen yards from the traps. He hit the first hundred straight, and ninety-six
out of the second hundred. Next day he scored ninety-seven and ninety-nine,
the third day ninety-eight out of one hundred, or four hundred and ninety out
of a possible five hundred in three days. May 28, 1881, at St. Louis, Missouri,
in a match with Capt. W. T. Mitchell with wild pigeons, five ground traps,
thirty yards rise, Erb killed ninety-three to Mitchell's eighty-five. June 20,
1885. at an exhibition witnessed by ten thousand spectators. Mr. Erb broke
forty-eight balls out of fifty thrown into the air, using a Colt's lightning rifle.
He also did a lot of fancy shooting, hitting various kinds of small coins and
performing every imaginable feat possible to a rifle. He then stepped up to
the score to break ninety-six clay piegons out of one hundred, of which he
broke one hundred straight, using only one barrel of a Colt's twelve-bore.
He has taught marksmanship to many prominent men, doctors, lawyers and
statesmen, coming from all parts of the United States to get the benefit of
his instruction.
Mr. Erb also enjoys a national reputation as a trainer of hunting dogs.
He has autograph letters from President Roosevelt, Secretary Cortelyou. Buf-
falo Bill, and many others expressing appreciation for the training he had
given their dogs. He has trained dogs for Presidents Cleveland and Harrison
and most of the celebrated sporting men of the country. His ideas on this
subject are strictly his own, reached as the result of many years of close ob-
servation and experience, all his methods being based upon kindly and humane
considerations. He has patented a very successful device to be used in teach-
ing dogs to retrieve from land or water, and be obedient in the field. He
challenges the world to equal this ingenious device. He has also been the
patentee of several sporting devices which have met with favor and success,
among which may be mentioned the feather artificial target, which was sold to
678 PAST AND PRESENT
English capitalists where it was manufactured. Another well known article
throughout the country patented by him is the Erb dog collar, which has ac-
quired an extensive manufacture and sale. Mr. Erb is the author of a book
entitled, "How to Train Dogs and Cats; Hints on Shooting and Hunting
Game." This book is wonderfully clear and concise and, being the result of
both inherited talent and years of experience, is of great value. Perhaps,
however, Mr. Erb will longest be remembered as the inventor of the famous
"Erb, Jr., Dog and Cat Food." Its preparation was a secret for twenty-five
years, the ingredients being selected as the result of observing animals in the
natural state, seeking the medicines suitable for their ailments. The animal
will eat it of its own accord, and it is so clean that even human beings need
not hesitate to use it. It was made public in January, 1906, and the public
are invited to visit his factory and observe the processes of its preparation.
"Field and Fancy," the leading dog paper of the world, gives the food high
praise, and Bart T. Ruddle, manager of pet animal shows, conducted by the
Wisconsin Humane Society, and many others find the Erb food unexcelled for
pet stock. In 1909 Mr. Erb gave up training dogs to build a factory in West
Lafayette for the manufacture of this food.
Mr. Erb married Adelaide, daughter of Eugene Schaufert, of St. Joseph,
Missouri, who was a native of Germany, and said to have built the first
vinegar factory west of the Mississippi river. Mr. and Mrs. Erb's only living
son enjoys the title of Fred Erb III. He is interested in agricultural pursuits,
especially the raising of fine stock. He married Jennie, daughter of John
Saxe, an old-time canal boat trader, who accumulated a considerable fortune
in that line before the days of railroads. Fred Erb III and his wife are the
parents of a son, who bears the title of Fred Erb IV.
TAMES B. SHAW.
The well-known justice of the peace at Lafayette. Indiana, whose name
introduces this biographical memoir is a descendant of good old Scotch-Irish
stock, his ancestors having been prominent in the New England states
during the colonial days, his grandfather and great-grandfather having
fought in the Revolutionary war. His father, William H. Shaw, was born
in Gorham, Maine, September i, 181 1. and his mother, whose maiden name
was Cornelia Mudge, was born in Wayne county. New York, September 13,
1821. Her mother's uncle, General Tellison, was on the staff of the great
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 6/9
Washington during the Revohitionary war. His father's brothers were
sailors and her father w as a merchant during most of his life. To the parents
of James B. Shaw six children were born, four boys and two girls, James
B., the oldest. Mrs. Jessie G. Solomon, the youngest, who is living at
Elgin, Illinois, the wife of Moses Solomon, was born December 13, 1856,
and she was married in 1882 ; no children have been born to them. She
and the subject of this re\'iew are the only living members of the family
of Mr. and Mrs. William H. Shaw. Frank Shaw, who was born August
5, 1853, married Jennie Kauffman in 1875, in Remington, Jasper county,
Indiana, and they became the parents of one child, a son named R. W.
Shaw, who lives in Chicago.
James B. Shaw was born May 28, 1842, in Delphi. Carroll county,
Indiana, in which place he began his early education, studying in the pub-
lic schools until 1858 when he entered Wabash College at Crawfordsville
where he prosecuted his studies until 1861 when the war between the states
began, which prompted him to leave his studies and his home and enlist
on September 6, 1861, as a private in Company D, Tenth Regiment Indiana
Volunteer Infanty, under Col. Mahlon D. Manson of Crawfordsville, and
Capt. Joseph F. Taylor of Benton county. On July 16, 1862, he was pro-
moted to hospital steward, faithfully serving as such until mustered out
September 16, 1864. He was present at some famous engagements while
under Sherman in the Atlanta campaign and on the march to the sea, in-
cluding Chickamauga, Corinth, Perryville. Tullahoma, Missionary Ridge,
Buzzard Roost, Resaca, Peach Tree Creek, Atlanta, seeing one hundred
and twenty days of continuous fighting on the Atlanta campaign alone. He
returned to Remington. Indiana, then went to Watseka, Illinois, where he
entered the telegraphic service on the Toledo, Peoria & Warsaw Railroad,
later the Pittsburg, Chicago & St. Louis, also the Chicago & Eastern Illi-
nois and the Lake Erie & Western Railroad, faithfully serving these various
roads in a most acceptable manner for a period of twenty-one years. In
1886 Mr. Shaw was elected justice of the peace and so faithfully and well
has he performed the duties of the office that he has been retained up to
the present time. During his long term of twenty-three years he has shown
that he is an able, impartial and judicious exponent of the law and few of
his decisions have met with reversal at the hands of a higher tribunal. He
has been a loyal Republican all his life, having first cast his vote for
President Abraham Lincoln in 1864. He was reared in the Presbyterian
faith, to which his parents were strict adherents. He is a member of the
Grand Amiy of the Republic, Post No. 475, and the L'nion \'eteran Legion.
68o PAST AND PRESENT
Camp No. 122. He is also a ^lason. belonging to the lodge at Kentland.
Indiana. But in all these he perhaps takes the greatest interest in the Grand
Army, having first joined the Lafayette Post. No. 3, on December 2. 1879.
having filled all the offices in the same, having in 1894 been elected senior
vice commander of the Department of Indiana. He is past colonel of En-
campment No. 122, Union Veteran Legion. He probably knows more sol-
diers than any man in the state, and he is familiar with the history of every
regiment and battery organized in the state. He and Comrade Aiken in
1883 first began to place flags on the graves of twenty-eight Confederate
soldiers at Greenbnsh cemetery, and on the graves of twenty-two Union
men there, and they have continued this practice ever since, not missing a
single Decoration day. He receives a pension, and he has a very comfortable
home at 1006 Elliott avenue. Lafayette.
Mr. Shaw is a well preserved man considering his past life of mingled
hardship and toil, being stoutly built. He has decided tastes and senti-
ments, is thoroughly patriotic and he is well fitted for the work of justice
of the peace, being a man of force, yet companionable and a very interest-
ing talker, having a good memory.
URBAN A. LYLE. M. D.
Dr. Urban A. Lyle, who is one of the younger representatives of the
medical profession practicing in the city of Lafayette, was born January 28.
1878, at Salem. Ohio. His parents were Thomas and Lucy M. (Mamyum)
Lyle. The father was born in England, of English parents, and the mother
was born in ^Memphis. Tennessee, and was descended from an old southern
family of much respectability. Her father was a prominent planter and before
the war a slaveholder. In the Civil war days, Gen. Robert E. Lee
used to make his headquarters, whenever convenient, at her fathers house.
Her father and her two brothers were in the Confederate army, the father
dying while in the service and one son died of yellow fever.
Thomas Lyle was a prominent physician and surgeon. At one time he
was an instructor in a college at Toronto, Canada. Subsequently he grad-
uated from the Toronto School of Medicine and practiced medicine in that
Canadian city for a time. After coming to the United States, he studied and
graduated in theology, becoming pastor of the Disciples church at Salem,
Ohio. During his pastorate there, he was instrumental in building a church
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 68 1
edifice. He also practiced medicine at the same time lie was serving as pas-
tor. Later he graduated from the Physio-Medical College of Cincinnati,
Ohio, after which he devoted his time to medicine alone. He is still prac-
ticing medicine at Salem, Ohio, where he is regarded as an excellent and
highly trustworthy physician. He was appointed professor of materia medica
in the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Chicago. He was the father
of four children: James M., Charles H., Eugene G., and Urban A., of
this memoir.
The Doctor attended the high school at Salem, Ohio, and having chosen
the profession followed by his father, he entered upon a course of medicine
at the Physio-Medical College at Indianapolis, graduating in 1903. In 1904,
he graduated at the Electro-Therapeutic College of Lima, Ohio. He then
located in practice at Lafayette where he is gaining a lucrative and highly
successful practice among good families of the city. He has the advantage
of being thoroughly posted in the latest, up-to-date methods of combatting
diseases. His office is among the best equipped in Lafayette, and includes
an X-ray machine and other electrical apparatuses. In medical societies, he
is counted among the membership of the Tippecanoe County Medical Society
and the American Medical Association. At present he is a member of the
Lafayette board of health.
Politically, he of whom this sketch is written is a believer in the prin-
ciples as shown in the platform of the Republican party, of which body he is
an active, intelligent member. In civic society matters, the Doctor affiliates
with the Masonic fraternity; the Eagles, Modern Woodmen, Moose and
Knights of Pythias orders, belonging to the regimental staff of the last named
fraternity.
Doctor Lyle married, September 14, 1902, Estella M. Turney, daughter
of Dr. S. R. Turney, of Brownstown, Illinois. Mrs. Lyle is an accomplished
musician — one of a high order — having graduated in music at the Paso
Conservatory of Music, Lebanon. Illinois, and the School of Music at St.
Louis, Missouri, besides the Metropolitan School of Music at Indianapolis.
PARKER A. BYERS.
Everybody in Lafayette and thousands from other parts of the country
have long known Parker A. Byers, and it would be safe to sa)- tint all wlin
know him entertain for him a feeling of admiration akin to love. The reason
6S2 PAST AND PRESENT
for this is his gentle manners, his genial address and accommodating dispo-
sition, united with a bright mind and rare talents as a conversationalist. For
more than tliirty years his place of business in the "Star City" has been head-
quarters for all the choice spirits. Few visitors coming to Lafayette fail to
call and see Parker. Tliere they meet otliers, and it is a rare evening that -n
intelligent and fun-loving crowd can not be found in the hospitable halls of
Mr. Byers. He is a native of Indiana and a fine sample of the Hoosier at
his best. A son of Stephen A. and Mary (Brookbank) Byers, he was born
at Delphi, Indiana, in 1852, and spent a happy boyhood in the "old swimmin'
holes," the green pastures and other boyish resorts in and around the capital
of Carroll county. Of course he attended school between times and there is
a tradition that in all sports of an innocent nature, all athletic games and
invigorating pastimes young Byers could ever be found as a leader. In 1868,
when about sixteen years old, he located at Lafayette and for the next four
years had charge of Comstock's billiard hall. He became an expert at the
game, was gradually recognized as a professional and before he was hardly
of age had a national reputation as a billiard player. He it was who played
the first match game at Indianapolis in 1873. with the celebrated Schafer. the
occasion being one of vast interest to billiardists and heralded in sporting cir-
cles all over the country. When twenty years old, which was in 1872, Mr.
Byers went into business for himself at the corner of Fifth and Columbia
streets, moving later to the Bramble House, where he remained until 1877,
when he located permanently on Fourth street. For thirty-two years he has
occupied this place, making it the most popular resort of the kind in Lafay-
ette. Mr. Byers" literary tastes suggested the establishment of a reading
room, which for years has been a favorite meeting place for those desiring to
consult the daily papers or latest magazines. There is also a library of well
selected books, and the rooms are made inviting in every respect. He is
president of the Merchants' Electric Lighting Association.
In 1874, Mr. Byers married Sarah J. Shaffer, of Lafayette, and his home
is the abode of hospitality and kindly greeting to all who call. ^Mr. Byers
may properly lay claim to the title "perfect gentleman," being indeed one of
nature's noblemen. In personal appearance he is tall and well built, with dark
eyes, pleasant manner, always cheerful, and possessed of a fine sense of humor
that makes him a charming companion. He is a man of high character, kind
and honorable in his dealings, generous, sociable and well informed. He is a
member of the Episcopal church and the Improved Order of Red Men, and
practically counts his friends by the number of his acquaintances at home or
abroad, as "none know him but to love him. none name him but to praise."
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 683
ALEXANDER HAMILTON CROUSE.
The founc'er of this well-known Tippecanoe county family was of Ger-
man origin. George Grouse came across the Atlantic long before the Revolu-
tionary war and settled in Gumberland county, Pennsylvania. He left a son
named Henry, who was born July 6, 1768, and married a Miss Hevison,
whose birth date is recorded as February 15, 1766. The date of the births of
their children are thus given in the old family Bible : Catherine, May 20,
1792; Leah, March 6, 1794; Henry, August i, 1796; Maria, July 15, 1798;
Simon, July 25, 1802; John, April 15, 1805; David, September 18, 1808;
Elizabeth, October 15, 1810; Daniel, November 20, 1814. About 1820, the
father of this family removed to Germantown, Ohio, and cleared a farm in
that locality. In 1830 he settled in Marion county, Indiana, where he pur-'
chased and cleared a section of land, including the site afterward selected
for the Indiana Asylum for the Insane, west of Indianapolis. He died in the
prime of life, as the result of injuries from a falling tree. His son, John W.,
who was born in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, came with his father
on his removal to Butler county, Ohio. March 17, 1825, he was married to
Eliza Christman, in Preble county, Ohio, the ceremony being performed by
Bishop Kumler, a well-known ecclesiastic of that day. She was born in
Preble county, Ohio, June 5, 1805, her parents being Daniel and Madalina
(Ogo) Christman. They were both natives of Guilford county, North Car-
olina, the father being born March 27, 1793, and the mother, December 8.
1776. They had five children, John, Eliza, Solomon. Jacob and Daniel. The
family were early pioneers of Preble county and highly respected as citizens.
Daniel entered land and became prosperous as a farmer, at one time owning
about three hundred acres. He was a member of the United Brethren church,
straightforward and honorable in his business dealings, and died on his Ohio
homestead when eighty years of age. After his marriage, John W. Grouse
located near Liberty, Union county, Indiana, where he purchased land and
a sawmill. In the fall of 1828 he removed to Tippecanoe county and located
on land in Wayne township two miles from the present Grouse homestead.
Besides the quarter section entered from the government, he bought one hun-
dred and forty-two acres and there remained until his death, September i 3,
1844. He cleared off the timber and turned the first furrows on the prairie
land, developing three hundred acres of rich soil, the greater part of which
he brought to a high state of cultivation. He and his wife were members
of the United Brethren church, in which he served as class leader and held
684 P^^"^ ■'^^^ PRESENT
other ofiices. He was a \-ery zealous member, contributing liljerally to build
and support the work of the denomination. At one time he was a Whig-
candidate for state senator. He was loyal as a citizen, practical as a farmer,
straightforward in business and in every way reliable. His wife died March
26, 1883. aged seventy-eight years. During her long widowhood of nearly
forty years, she depended on her son Alexander to manage her business
affairs. Her children were as follow^s: Mary A., born October 5, 1826;
Alexander H.. October 23, 1828; Daniel Franklin, June 11, 1837, died July
II. 1866; Mary A. married James W. Stewart and died March 23. 1874.
Alexander Hamilton Crouse was born in Union county, Indiana, Oc-
tober 22,. 1828. and was but six months old when brought by his parents
to Tippecanoe county. His early life and training was passed in the pioneer
period and he never lost the coloring of character and sturdy qualities ac-
quired in those days of heroic hardship. What little education he got was
in a log school house. He knew all about the soft side of puncheon seats
and helped put the ten-foot backlog into the yawning fireplace. At inter-
vals, between his sixth and fifteenth year, this pioneer boy attended this
rude school, going occasionally to a school of a little better grade near O'Dell
Corner. His father early began to teach him practical business methods and
when still a boy he knew how to bargain for cattle, his father giving him the
money and showing him the points of good stock. He was an unusually
bright farm boy and when only nine years old cultivated thirty-five acres
of corn. At the age of sixteen, the death of his father left the manage-
ment of the farm on his shoulders. In time he became quite prosperous
as a cattle dealer and amassed wealth.
June 24. 1894, Mr. Crouse was married in Hardin county. Kentucky,
to Miss Tee P. Humphrey, a member of a distinguished family of the state.
More than twelve hundred people attended the ceremony, which was per-
formed by the bride's brother. Rev. Felix Humphrey. Mr. and Mrs. Crouse
gave a reception on returning to their Indiana home, which was attended
by over six hundred friends and neighbors of the family. ]\lrs. Crouse
was born in Hardin county, Kentucky, March 25, 1872, her parents being
Thomas and Armanda (Royalty) Humphrey. Her paternal grandparents
were Samuel and Drusilla (Haywood) Humphrey. The paternal great-
grandfather, Samuel Humphrey. Sr., came from Virginia and became a
pioneer of Kentucky, where he made his home among the Indians and the
wild and romantic scenery of that famous region. Mrs. Drusilla Humphrey,
grandmother of Mrs. Crouse, was the daughter of a prominent official of
Hardin countv. who had Indian blood in his veins, and more remote mem-
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 6S5
bers of the family served as cliiefs of the Shawnee Indians. It is claimed
that a vast amount of the land in Kentucky belongs to this branch of the
family. The children of Samuel and Drusilla Humphrey were Sallie. John,
Lydia, Samuel, William, Wesley, Thomas, Rachel, and Mahala, the last
dying in early womanhood. The father, who was a substantial citizen of
Hardin county, died at his home there in middle life. His son, Thomas
Humphrey, who became the father of Mrs. Crouse, was born in Hardin
county, March 12, 1827, followed farming and when about twenty years
of age married Armanda Royalty, who was born in Hardin county, July
I, 1832, her parents being Daniel and Annie (Saunders) Royalty. Her
father, who was born in Washington county, Kentucky, was a son of David
Royalty, one of the pioneers of Kentucky. Annie Saunders was a daughter
of Thomas and Sally Saunders, the father serving through the Revolutionary
war under General Washington. He was a very strong man and weighed
two hundred sixt}' pounds when he entered the army, but received a wound
in battle which made him a cripple for life. His parents lived near one of
the battle fields and the window-panes were shattered by the firing. After
leaving the army, Mr. Royalty took up his residence in Washington county
and there spent the remainder of his days. His children were Annie, Isaac,
Rebecca, Hannah and several daughters whose names are forgotten. Dan-
iel Royalty was a shoemaker but owned land in Hardin county, of which
he was one of the substantial citizens. He removed to that locality soon
after his marriage and lived there until his death. His children were Sarah,
Thomas, Jane, Rebecca, Catherine, Mary A., and Armanda. After their mar-
riage, Thomas Humphrey and wife located at the headwaters of Mill creek,
where he purchased a farm and spent the rest of his life in its cultivation. His
children were Felix, Thomas, Missouri, John W., Isaac F. and Wyatt W.
(twins), Mary, Christian D. and Tee P. The father died December 22. 1894,
aged sixty-seven. He was a member of the Baptist church and had served
as clerk and moderator. In business he was industrious, energetic and
trustworthy, kind and affectionate to his family and a iirst-class citizen in
all respects. His widow makes her home with Mrs. Crouse, and, like the
latter and the rest of her children, is a devoted member of the Baptist
church. The Humphreys are one of the oldest and most influential of
Kentucky families. Rev. Felix Humphrey, brother of Mrs. Crouse, was
educated at Garnettsville, Meade county, Kentucky, and is now an ordained
minister of the Baptist church.
Alexander H. Crouse was in many ways one of the most notable citi-
zens of Tippecanoe county. He was especially well known as a farmer,
686 PAST AND PRESENT
in which Hne lie was energetic, progressive and resourceful. His manage-
ment of his mother's estate showed business ability of a high order. For
eight and a half years he served as justice of the peace and during that
time tried many cases, whose decision gave him a reputation for moderation
and justice. His good common sense proved valuable to litigants, whom
he persuaded to settle many of their disputes out of court. He always
favored arbitration, if this could be brought about, and saved contending
parties much money by inducing them to compromise their differences. He
was a man of integrity, of sterling character, and his word was as good
as his bond to those who knew him. At one time he was a candidate for
state senator and always took an interest in politics, first as a Republican,
then as a Democrat. It is claimed that he suggested the ground-work for
the present Indiana liquor laws, and in other ways showed constructi\-e ability.
Mr. Crouse travelled a good deal not only in the United States but through
foreign countries. In 1869 he spent some time in England and Ireland,
Scotland, W^ales, France, Germany, Spain and Turkey. His sympathies
were warm, his disposition kindly and his nature generous. He was long
a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in which he filled
all the chairs, and also belonged to the Encampment. He died August
13, 1908, and is buried in the Westpoint cemetery, where his widow has
erected a beautiful monument to his memory. Mrs. Crouse is a lady of
many charms, bespeaking the high social connections and fine families from
which she sprang. Her home is noted for its hospitality and so kindly and
courteously dispensed as to make all who call desire to come again. The
children of Mr. and Mrs. Crouse are as follows: John Thomas, born April
26, 1895, and died in infancy: William Alexander, born November 24, 1896:
Mary Magdalene, born October 7, 1898: Mark Hermon, born August 29,
1903; Partlow Loveless, born August 14, 1905, and Armanda Eliza, born
October 11, 1908.
WILLIAM SBIPSOX WALKER, M. D.
Dr. William S. Walker, one of the practicing physicians and surgeons
of the city of Lafayette, was born November 16, 1846. at Morristown, Ten-
nessee, a son of Lovel and Amanda Jane (Howell) Walker, both natives
of Tennessee. The father was a Baptist minister and followed that and
farming many years. At the time of the Rebellion, he was an ardent Union
man and finally became a Republican. Lovel and Amanda J. (Howell)
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 687
Walker had four children : Jane married Noah Alexander \\'illiams and
now resides at Asheville. North Carolina: Rebecca married a Quaker
(Friend) preacher named Jonathan Mills and now lives at Seattle, Wash-
ington : Hannah married Dr. Isaac Walker, and resides at Alpha, Tennessee.
The other child in the family was Dr. William S., of this sketch. The
father died in 1879; the good wife and mother is still living and resides
on the old homestead at Alpha, Tennessee. The land on which she lives
was originally ceded to Tennessee by North Carolina and was first owned
by the maternal great-great-grandfather, Benjamin Howell. A part of this
tract of land has remained in the name of some of the Walkers and Howells
ever since. The residence now on the place is the fourth that has been used
on the premises and practically in the same place.
Dr. William S. Walker attended the Panther Springs Academy at
Panther Springs, Tennessee, and subsequently entered Mossy Creek (now
Newman-Carson) College, at Jefiferson, Tennessee. He was still in college
when the war broke in upon his course of studies. He then entered Miami
Medical College, at Cincinnati, Ohio, graduating in the spring of 1869.
He located at Colburn, Tippecanoe county, Indiana, arriving the same year
of his graduation, and practiced there until 1876, when he removed to
Lafayette, where lie has been in the constant practice of medicine ever
since, except a few months when he was absent taking a course of lectures
at the Indiana Medical College at Indianapolis in 1887 and a post-graduate
course in New York in 1901-02.
The Doctor is an active member of the Tippecanoe County ^Medical
Society, the Mississippi Valley Medical Society and the American Medical
Association. He is now the president of the District Councillors Associa-
tion and has been connected with St. Elizabeth's Hospital for over thirty
years, and physician and surgeon at St. Joseph's Asylum. Lafayette, for
twenty years. He is now consulting physician for the Home Hospital.
In his political views he of whom this sketch is written is in general
harmony with the platforms of the Democratic party. He has represented
his ward one term on the city council ; also served as health officer and pen-
sion examiner. In 1873 he was the Democratic candidate for the office
of state senator against Judge La Rue. The election was a close one and
was contested, notwithstanding the fact that the normal Republican majority
in Tippecanoe county was at that time about eight hundred. Like many
of the modern-day professional men. Mr. Walker is connects! with the ancient
and honorable fraternity of Masons, having been advanced to the thirty-
second degree in that order. He also holds a membership with the brother-
688 PAST AND PRESENT
hood of Elks at Lafayette. For thirty years he has been a consistent nien-
ber of the Trinity ]\Iethodist Episcopal church of Lafayette.
Concerning his domestic afifairs, let it be stated that the Doctor mar-
ried, first, in July, 1868, IMary E. Gettel, by whom two children were born,
Curtis L, and Elmer. The wife and mother died in 1870, In 1872 he
married Emma A. Dreyer, daughter of Henry Dreyer, and by this union
two children were born, Emma Estella and Roy Simpson. During his long
residence in this county. Doctor Walker has always deported himself in a
manner becoming a professional man and has won a wide circle of friends,
both as a doctor of medicine and citizen of a puljlic-spirited nature.
HENRY TAYLOR SAMPLE.
For more than half a century the late Henry Taylor Sample was an
honored citizen of the state, esteemed and loved by all who knew him. He
was born near Middletown, Butler county, Ohio, September 29, 1805, and
died at Lafayette, Indiana, February 19, 1881. His parents were John
Sample and Ann Taylor. His father was a manufacturer of flour and one of
the pioneers in his section of Ohio in building and operating what were then
known as gristmills. His first mill was near Middletown, in Butler county ;
his second was on the Big Miami river, in the northern part of the same
county at Colerain. Subsequently he removed over the border into Randolph
county, Indiana, where he erected a mill on White river and also opened up
and cultivated a farm. Henry Sample, the subject of this biography, either
inherited or acquired very early a commercial instinct and during his minority
engaged in selling the products of his father's mills and farm to the settlers
in the interior of the state. Many of the products were transported in flat-
boats down White river, and sold to the settlers in what was known as the
New Purchase, which included the present site of Indianapolis. He also
was one of the pioneers as a boy in extending the trade along the Mississinewa
river, into the country of the Miami Indians and to the settlers along the
upper Wabash. To reach the Mississinewa it was necessary to carry the
flour, grain, vegetables and lumber by wagon a distance of eight miles. In
1825 his journey was extended as far down the Wabash as Lafayette, the
site of which had been surveyed and platted a week before he arrived.
In 1826 Mr. Sample married Sarah Sumwalt and two or three years
later settled in the new town of Lafayette. He had already gained a large
experience in trade and was skilled in the tanner's art. He therefore opened
/Yy^ufyh^t
cry
Thf Cmhii-y fHibliahmg X Engraving Co Cfiicagci
f^/a^\y ^(y!^^<^/^l^jC^^
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 689
in Lafayette a tannery which he conducted with gratifying success until 1854,
in connection with the other business enterprises of great value. As early
as 1833 he began the slaughter of hogs and nine years later formed a partner-
ship with the late Joseph S. Hanna in the business of slaughtering and pack-
ing both pork and beef on an extended scale. The firm of Sample & Hanna
soon won a high reputation, which extended from the markets on the eastern
seaboard to New Orleans, where many of their products were sold. Mr.
Sample himself made several trips with cargoes of pork and lard on flat-
boats via the Wabash, Ohio and Mississippi rivers to New Orleans, where
the cargoes were sold at a good profit. By his integrity and the honesty of
his dealings he gained the confidence of all classes of the farmers and stock
growers with whom he had most of his dealings. All of them reposed such
confidence in him that in times of panic they would place their surplus money
in his hands and take his receipt for the same rather than risk it in the banks.
He was. during all his successful business life, a friend of the poor and those
who were obliged to earn their living by toil. He never forgot his own
hurnble boyhood and was always willing to lend a hand to the worthy who
were struggling to better their condition. In 1858 he purchased a large tract
of land on the Grand Prairie in Benton county, which he converted into a
fine stock farm. The management of this farm and the raising and market-
ing of cattle was very congenial to his taste and yielded large profits on the
investment. Mr. Sample's judgment appeared to be unerring and he was
possessed of that peculiar foresight which is essential to success in commercial
enterprises. He counted the cost and weighed the chances before embarking
in a new business, and everything he undertook was managed with such
abihty and conservatism, with such energy and persistence, with such accurate
forecasting of the results, that no enterprise managed by him ever failed.
\\'hatever he undertook, in the way of business, whether for personal gain
or public welfare, prospered. As a natural sequence to this sagacity, executive
ability and careful attention, he built up a fortune which was ample for
himself and family. Unfortunately, after fifty years of almost unexampled
prosperity and uninterrupted success in the various industries and commercial
enterprises with which he was actively connected, he was induced to largely
invest in manufacturing enterprises with which he was not actively connected.
These investments proved disastrous and he lived to see the accumulations
of more than a half century swept away. In early life and so long as that
p-irty maintained a distinctive organization, Mr. Sample was a Whig and.
with the majority of the members of that party, he entered into the Repub-
lican partv at its birth and remained a member of it until the close of his.
(44)
690 PAST AND PRESENT
life. He was never an aspirant for public office or even active in the manage-
ment of politics, and his only official service was in the common council of
Lafayette. His acquaintance with farmers generally, and their high regard
for him, caused his election to the presidency of a county fair organized in
1867, which remained in existence for three years. This little pioneer organ-
ization was the forerunner of the Tippecanoe County Agricultural Associa-
tion, which has grown to be the largest association of its class in the state
of Indiana. Much of its growth and prestige are due to the wise and efficient
executive administration of Mr. Sample, who was its first president and its
only one to the time of his death. For the last eight years of his life he was
a member of the state board of agriculture, in which his counsel was always
sought and accepted as of great value to the society.
Mr. Sample's marriage in early life was happy and for a period of fifty-
five years the bonds of that wedlock held the husband and wife in loving
companionship. They were similar in their tastes, their moral character and
their religion, both being earnest and sincere members of the Methodist Epis-
copal church, and both enjoying the work of relieving the distressed and
making the world around them brighter and happier by dispensing charity
with open hands. They had eight children, three of whom died in infancy.
Of the remaining five, John Godfrey and Boyes Taylor died after reaching
maturity; Isabella Dunbar is the widow of the late Henry Taylor; Robert
William is a banker in Lafayette ; and Sallie A. is a widow of the late David
McBride, of the same city. Henry T. Sample was not only a man of large
executive ability, but a man of unusual intellectual strength. His physical
proportions were also large, his height being six feet one inch and his weight
two hundred and twenty-five pounds. He possessed a kindly disposition, in-
viting companionship, and his ministrations to others who needed help were
the source of joy and happiness to himself. His business transactions extend-
ed over a large area of country, embraced a great variety of commercial busi-
nesses as well as agricultural and industrial products, and through it all he
was the same honest, upright, noble-minded man. The affectionate rever-
ence for his good deeds still lingering in the hearts of the people among
whom he lived will not permit the memory of his life to perish from the earth.
ARTHUR BEAVER WESTFALL, M. D.
Prominent among the younger physicians is Dr. Arthur B. \\'estfall.
of the city of Lafayette, a native of Tippecanoe county, in fact a Hoosier
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 69!
born and bred. Probably no medical practitioner in western Indiana is
better known than Doctor Westfall, who was born September 17, i860, in
the county in which he now resides. He is a son of a farmer, his parents
being Joel and Amelia (Beaver) Westfall, now deceased, both widely known
for their sterling qualities of citizenship and home kindliness. Their son
inherited the kindliness of his parents and with energy and determination
has risen to the fore-front of the medical profession.
Arthur B. Westfall was educated in the district schools and entered
Purdue University in 1878 and was a student there for two years. De-
termined upon a career in medicine, the young man matriculated at the Ken-
tucky School of Medicine, Louisville; Kentucky, and graduated there in 1890
with signal honors. He then entered the practice of his profession with
fair success. In 1896 he went to New York city where he took a post-
graduate course in clinical medicine and surgery at the New York Post-
graduate Medical School of that city. Completing his work there, he ar-
ranged to attend the Metropolitan School of Medicine in London, England,
where he took further instructions and after completing his studies returned
to Lafayette where he has practiced his profession ever since with a degree
of success not many young men attain. His fame as a surgeon is more
than local, while his clientele of patients is large. He is a member of the
American Medical Association, the Indiana Medical Association and also
of the Tippecanoe County Medical Society. He is also examiner for the
Federal and Equitable insurance companies and holds a high place among
his brethren in the practice of medicine.
Dr. Arthur Westfall was married to Ada Lang, of Cincinnati, Ohio,
and she has taken no small part in his success. He is a member of the
Knights of Pythias order at Lafayette and also a member of the Trinity
Methodist Episcopal church of the same city. He and his wife are identified
with the social side of the city as well as being interested in the work of the
church to which they belong. Dr. Westfall has never forgotten his love for
the farm and is the owner of considerable land in the state of Colorado. His
career as a physician holds out an example to other young men by showing
what pluck, perseverance and hard work will do toward ultimate success.
HON. THOMAS W^ FIELD.
Hon. Thomas W. Field, the present city judge of the city of Lafayette,
was born in Wayne township, Tippecanoe county, Indiana, a son of Charles
692 PAST AND PRESENT
A. and Frances ( Mustard ) Field. The father was a soldier during the
Civil war period in the Union army. At the date of his death he was a
commercial traveler, and he died when the subject of this notice was but
about five years of age, leaving himself and a brother. Henry J- Field, to
battle alone in the conflict of life. Indeed such men as the Judge have
reason to appreciate the cost of that great war and of the hardships which
its soldiery underwent for the flag of their country, for few of the men
who wore the loyal blue from 1861 to 1865 returned in as good a physical
condition as when they enlisted. The subject's mother is still living, a well
preserved lady who did all within her power to rear and educate her father-
less sons.
After attending the public schools of his native county, young Field,
having graduated from the high school at West Point, this county, entered
Depauw University, at Greencastle, Indiana, and graduated from the law
department in 1894, receiving the degree of Bachelor of Laws. He was
admitted to the Tippecanoe county bar in 1895, opened a law office at
Lafayette and began the practice of his chosen profession, in which he has
made rapid progress and secured a paying business among a respectable
class of clients.
In his political affiliations, the Judge is a Democrat and stands well
in his part v. In the month of November, 1905, he was elected to the city
judgeship, his term of office beginning in September, 1906, and expires
in January, 19 10. This is one of the political offices within Indiana which
admits of the incumbent performing the duties devolving upon such an
officer and at the same time practice law. He has taken advantage of this
provision and held his office practice, while serving in the capacity of judge.
The city of Lafayette is normally Republican by about four hundred
majority, but Judge Field was elected as a candidate of the Democratic
party by a majority of one thousand, one hundred thirty-one, carrj^ing
every precinct in the city. In 1902 he was a candidate for prosecuting at-
torney, and in 1908 a candidate against Judge De Hart, the Republican
and successful candidate for judge of the circuit court of Tippecanoe county.
In 1898 he was deputy county clerk, serving four years. When the office
of city controller was established by law. he was appointed as the first city
controller, serving ten months.
The Judge is a member of the Jackson Club, a political organization,
and the Lafayette Club, purely a social organization. Considering his years,
just in life's prime, the subject is in possession of a fine legal education, a
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 693
lucrative practice and the incumbent of an office where good judgment and
discretion is demanded. His many friends and admirers be:;peak for him a
successful and long career at the bar and on the bench of his county.
JOHN P. FORESMAN.
The name Foresman has long been connected with the development
and progress of Indiana and the record of the family is one which reflects
credit upon the state. It is a well-attested maxim that the greatness of a
country lies not in the machinery of government nor even in its institutions,
but rather in the sterling qualities of the individual citizen, in his capacity
for high and unselfish effort and his devotion to the public welfare. In
these particulars, those who have borne the above name have conferred
honor and dignity upon their county and state and as an elemental part
of history we are pleased to record a sketch of the leading representative of
the family with the object in view of noting his connection with the ad-
vancement of one of the most flourishing and progressive parts of the com-
monwealth and affording an example worthy of emulation by the young
men whose life work is largely a matter of the future.
John P. Foresman, who has been a life-long resident and prominent
citizen of Tippecanoe county, is the elder of the two sons of Bennett and
Mary (Groce) Foresman, the former born in June, 1840, in Union town-
ship, the latter in Pickaway county, Ohio, in the month of July, 1842.
These parents were made husband and wife at Circleville, Ohio, in October,
1864, and later settled in Union township, where in due time Bennett Fores-
man became one of the leading agriculturists and stock raisers in the
county, owning at the time of his death a finely improved farm of five hun-
dred acres, which, with other valuable property he had accumulated, made
him one of the wealthiest men in his part of the country. With the ex-
ception of the two years he served as county treasurer, he devoted his en-
tire life to his chosen vocation and for many years enjoyed much more
than local repute as a farmer and stock man, besides holding worthy pres-
tige as an enterprising, public-spirited citizen. He died on the homestead
in Union township, November 8. 1900, and was profoundly mourned by a
large circle of friends and acquaintances who had learned to appreciate him
for his sterling worth. Mrs. Foresman is still living and since the death
of her husband has made her home in Lafayette. \\'illiam B. Foresman, the
subject's youngest brother, is engaged in the grain business and for some
694 PAST AND PRESENT
years has been a member of the firm of Crabbs, Reynolds, Taylor & Com-
pany, which he represents on the road as travelling auditor. He is a man of
family, has an extensive acquaintance in business circles, especially among
the grain dealers of his own and other states, and stands high in the es-
teem of the people of Lafayette and the county of Tippecanoe.
John P. Foresman, whose birth occurred on the 3d of October, 1866,
was educated in the public schools and Purdue University and his childhood
and youth were spent in close touch with nature on the farm, and had a
marked influence in developing a strong and vigorous physique, a well-
rounded character and fitting him for the course of action to which his life
thus far has been devoted. He early became interested in agricultural pur-
suits and livestock and while still a mere youth began dealing in the latter
in partnership with his brother and it was not long until they had built up
quite an extensive and lucrative business. He has never ceased his activity
in this regard, and, though not as extensively engaged as formerly, is still
in touch with all matters relating to livestock, owning a number of high-
grade animals on his beautiful farm in Union township and occupying a
prominent place among the leading livestock dealers throughout the country.
For some time past he has been much interested in horses, making a specialty
of trotting stock, and now has a number of valuable animals of high
pedigree and excellent records on the turf. He is a lover of the horse,
an excellent judge of the animal and to his influence as much perhaps as
to that of any other man are the farmers of Union and other townships
indebted for the marked improvement which has recenth^ been brought
about in their breeds of horses and other domestic stock.
Reared on a farm and, as already indicated, an enterprising and en-
thusiastic agriculturist, Mr. Foresman has never been indifferent to the duties
of citizenship nor neglected informing himself upon the leading stock ques-
tions of the day. From his youth, he has been a reader and obser\.'er and
since attaining his majority his influence in the councils of the Democratic
party have had much to do in shaping its policies in local matters. Until
recently he labored diligently for the success of his party and its candidates
with little thought of his own advancement, but in 1907 he was nominated
for county auditor and at the ensuing election defeated his rival by a de-
cisive majority and in due time took charge of the office, the duties of which
he has since discharged in an eminently able and satisfactory manner.
Mr. Foresman is a man of resourceful capacity and in the management
of his private affairs as well as looking after the interests of the public
in the position he so worthily fills, has demonstrated ability of a high order.
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 695
also a faithfulness to trusts which has won the confid'^nce of his fellow
citizens irrespective of party affiliation. As an otificial he is careful and
obliging, discharging the duties incumbent upon him with the same thought-
ful interest which he manifests in his business affairs, and his public career
thus far has been above criticism, comparing favorably with that of any of
his predecessors and proving him competent for any office within the gift
of the people of the county.
The married life of ]\Ir. Foresman dates from December 26, 1894, at
which time he was united in the bonds of wedlock with Clara Kurtz, daugh-
ter of Charles and Mary (Ruger) Kurtz, of Lafayette, where the father
still lives, the mother being deceased. Four children have been born to
Mr. and Mrs. Foresman, Edward Bennett, Helen Louise, William K.. and
Mary Elizabeth, the last named dying at the tender age of four years. In
his fraternal relations Mr. Foresman is a member of the Masonic brother-
hood, belonging to Shawnee Lodge No. 129, at the town of Odell, which
he has served in various ofificial capacities, and in his daily life he aims
to exemplify the beautiful and sublime principles upon which the order is
founded.
THOMAS J. CLAYTON.
The well-remembered gentleman whose name heads this brief review
was a man well liked by a coterie of hn'al friends in the city of Lafayette
and vicinity, and, since no small part of his success was due to the encour-
agement and wise counsel nf his wife, the biographer takes pleasure in pre-
senting her life record in the paragraphs that follow.
Mrs. Emeline Clayton was born in North Carolina, June 27, 1833, the
daughter of Benjamin and Martha (Rape!) Jackson, both natives of the old
Tar state, where they spent their useful and honorable lives on a farm. Of
their family of five children but two are now living, namely : John Jack-
son, now in his eighty-second year (1909). who resides with bis sister,
Emeline (Jackson-Miller) Clayton in Lafayette. The latter was educated in
her native state and was married December 19, 1850, to Benjamin T. Miller,
which union resulted in the birth of five children, all boys, of whom but three
are now living, namely: Alonzo B. Miller, who was born January 11. 1852,
is a mechanic and lives in Lafayette, being regarded as an expert in his line ;
Mortimer C. Miller, who was bom February 2S, 1858. is also a very capable
^vorkman, living in this citv. Herbert E. Miller, who was born October i;.
696 PAST AND PRESENT
1863, is also a good tradesman and makes his home in Lafayette. After the
death of lier first Imsljand. who was known as a man of thrift and honorahle
principles, Mrs. Miller was married to Thomas J. Clayton. Xo children were
born to this union.
Mrs. Clayton was reared a Methodist, but being a deep student and a
woman of contemplative mind, she has become a Spiritualist, as are also her
sons and her brother. She has lived in Lafayette since 1869, and she has
lived to note the wonderful growth of the municipality from a small village
to its present populous and prosperous condition. She has always shov.-n an
abiding interest in the welfare of the town and county of her adoption, and
her influence and judicious counsel have often been sought in the promulgation
of worthy enterprises relating to the church and charitable undertakings, as
well as socially. She is well preserved for one of her advanced years, her
mind being alert and active, and she is an interesting and instructive con-
versationalist. She has always been a close observer of the trend of the times
and has kept well abreast of the procession. She has been an excellent mother
and neighbor and her friends are limited only by her acquaintance.
JUDGE CHARLES HASKELL HENDERSON.
No representative in this biographical compendium can claim worthier
ancestors than he whose life record is briefly outlined in the following para-
graphs, for they were pioneers of the most sterling attributes, typical repre-
sentatives of that class of patriots that laid the foundation of our present
great commonwealth, leaving to us a more glorious inheritance than we are
often prone to properly consider. We first hear of Jones Henderson, who
was born in Augusta county, Virginia, in 1785. When he was seven years
old his parents, splendid types of old-time southern chivalry, moved to Mont-
gomery county, Kentucky^ where they established a new home amid primitive
conditions. In 1816 Jones Henderson married Margaret Smith, a native of
Montgomery county, Kentucky. She was of German descent, her mother
having been born on the Atlantic ocean while on a voyage to America. Mar-
garet Smith was born in 1800. Jones Henderson was of Scotch-Irish par-
entage. While he resided in the state of Kentucky, he was the owner of
slaves, but in time he became an abolitionist, freed his women slaves and sold
the men. He moved to Indiana in 1834, making the trip overland in wagons
while the country was still covered with woods and swamps and the roads in
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 697
marked contrast to our present turnpikes — in fact, the roads became impas-
sible at Jamestown, Boone county, Indiana, and the wagons were abandoned,
the parents and their ten children coming on to Tippecanoe county on foot
and horseback. Thus, footsore and weary, they made their advent into this
county in wintry weather when the outlook was anything but encouraging ;
but, being people of heroic mould, they regarded hardships in a different
manner than we of the present generation, and they set to work with a will,
soon having the nucleus to a home, which they later made comfortable and
prospered by reason of hard toil and good management. After their arrival
here they spent the following winter in a cabin on the Conly farm, living
there until March, 1835. I" ^^^ meantime they purchased the farm west of
the county poor farm, containing two hundred acres, which is now owned
by Judge Charles Haskell Henderson, the old pioneer's grandson. Jones
Henderson and wife became the parents of twelve children, namely : Addi-
son, Martha, John M., Joseph W., Louisa E., Susan M., Mary G., Andrew
C, Henry O., Lewis M., James M., and Alexander H., the three last named
having been born in Indiana. Descended from these there are forty-two grand-
children living, one hundred and forty-six great-grandchildren, and ninety-
three great-great-grandchildren, also three great-great-great-grandchildren.
Charles Haskell Henderson is the son of Addison and Nancy (Clark)
Henderson. Nancy Clark was born in Guernsey county, Ohio. With her
parents, Joseph and Elizabeth (Albin) Clark, she moved to Blackford county,
Indiana, where the parents spent the remainder of their lives. Joseph Clark
was a native of Pennsylvania. Elizabeth Albin was born in Virginia, her
father having served in the Revolutionary war and was the owner at his death
of over four hundred acres of good land.
Addison Henderson was a hard-working and prosperous farmer. He
was for many years a justice of the peace, but, unlike many who have held
that office, he nearly always remitted his fees and endeavored to settle most
of his cases amicably if possible. He was an honorable and highly respected
citizen in his community.
Charles Haskell Henderson grew up on the home farm, where he laid
the foundation for a robust manhood by assisting with the work about the
place. Being ambitious to secure an education, he entered Purdue University
when seventeen years of age, taking the scientific course, in which he made
an excellent record, graduating from that institution in 1883. He early in
life began the study of law and was admitted to the bar in 1885 and has been
practicing in Lafayette ever since, holding high rank among the members of
the local bar. He was city judge of Lafayette from 1888 to 1902. during
090 PAST AND PRESENT
which period he very ably and satisfactorily attended to the duties of this
important office, winning the approbation of not only his constituents but also
many of other political affiliations. The Judge is a Republican in politics. He
gives considerable attention to his fine farm, which is kept highly improved
and from which no small part of the Judges recreation and pleasure is de-
rived. Personally, he is sociable, generous and obliging, consequently is liked
by all classes.
THO^IAS W. HOGAN.
Tlie people of this name in Lafayette are descended from a good old
Irish family of the kind well known in the first age of internal improve-
ments and who proved great factors in the development of the nation's natural
resources. The founders of the Indiana branch of Hogans left their native
county of Limerick. Ireland, about 1840 and became contractors in building
the Erie canal. Following the line of internal improvement toward the
West, they eventually reached Indiana in 1845, when the rage for develop-
ment was at its height. In fact, the T. Hogan & Company Boat Line was
well known to all who patronized the canal system from the Ohio to the
Wabash. James Hogan, son of the original immigrants, was about eight
years old when they came to America. He was an active business man,
among his other ventures being that of a grain buyer, and he died August
25, 1865. In early manhood he married Helen AlcCardle, by whom he had
seven children. Thomas W. Hogan, one of the three of these children
that is still living, was born at Lafayette. Indiana. January 11, 1850. He
attended the old Southern public school and was sufficiently proficient to
reach the eightli grade at the age of fifteen. After his father's death he
went to work for the E. T. McFarland Drug Company at three dollars a
week. He was, however, too bright and industrious a boy to remain long
at that figure and it was hardly six months before we find him getting
an increase in salary. When IMcFarland sold his store to Tinney. Mr.
Hogan continued with the latter as travelling salesman at one hundred dol-
lars per month until 1887, when he bought the business. In 1905 The
Hogan Drug Company was organized, with Thomas W. Hogan. president;
A\'. J. Hogan. vice-president, and John T. Hogan. secretary and treasurer.
Mr. Hogan is active in many ways in the social and industrial life of Lafay-
ette, influential in political and religious mo\-ements. and altogether a citi-
zen of vahie in all the walks of life. He is one of the self-made men who
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 699
has a right to be proud of the job and the jump from three dollars to pros-
perity, and even affluence, fully displays his energy, industry and indomit-
able resolution to succeed. In politics he is an independent Democrat, and
was chairman of the gold Democratic committee for the tenth district in
1896. He is one of the few Democrats chosen to represent the fourth ward
in Lafayette, which is usually overwhelmingly Republican, and it was a
flattering recognition of his business ability that caused him to be made
chairman of the finance committee. j\Ir. Hogan is a stockholder in the
Lafayette Loan and Trust Company, the Merchants' National Bank, the
Henry Taylor Lumber Company, the Rexal Drug Company of Boston, the
Lafayette Horse Sales Company and is developing a ranch which he owns
in the West. Twenty-three years ago he built a residence at 313 Perrin
avenue, in which he has ever since made his home. He is a charter member
of the Indiana Travelling Men's Association, a member of the Lafayette
lodge of Elks and of St. Mary's Catholic church.
September 18, 1877, Mr. Hogan married Anna Shaughnessy, a descend-
ant of Irish parents, by whom he has four children; John T. served as a
member of Company C, One Hundred Sixtieth Indiana Regiment, during
the Spanish-American war. He attended the Purdue School of Pharmacy
and is now a partner of his father in the drug company. Alice M., Mr.
Hogan's eldest daughter, graduated in the high school and married Walter
Hunzicker. William J. was graduated in the Purdue School of Pharmacy in
1906 and is a partner of his father in the drug company. Harriet B., the
youngest of the family, is a student of domestic science at Purdue.
SAMUEL THOMAS STALLARD.
For a number of years an honored citizen and representative business
man of Lafayette, Samuel T. Stallard belongs to that class of public-spirited
men, who, while advancing individual prosperity, promote the public good
and give a hearty and generous support to those measures and utilities which
make for the progress of the community, the county and the state. A
member of one of the leading law firms of Tippecanoe county and with a
reputation far beyond the circumscribed limits of the field to which in the
main his practice is confined, he has stamped the impress of his individuality
upon the minds of those with whom his business has brought him into re-
lations and made his influence felt as a leader of tbousfht and moulder
700 PAST AND PRESENT
of opinion at a bar which has long been distinguished for the learning, pro-
fessional ability and high personal standing of its members.
Mr. Stallard is a native of Monroe county, Indiana, born in the city of
Bloomington, November 7, 1841, being a son of Rev. Jacob M. and Maria
L. (Beswick) Stallard, the father a Tennessean by birth and one of the
ablest and best known Methodist divines of his day in the Central West,
the mother, a native of Indiana and likewise of Methodist parentage and
training. Rev. Jacob M. Stallard was brought to Indiana when a child and
continued a resident of same during the remainder of his life. Entering
the ministry of the Methodist Episcopal church in his young manhood, he
made rapid advancement in his sacred office, served a number of circuits and
stations in different parts of the state and by reason of his ability in the pul-
pit and remarkable success as an organizer he was in due time promoted to
the important position of presiding elder, being up to the time of his ap-
pointment the youngest minister in the state to be thus honored. As a
preacher Rev. Stallard had few equals and no superiors in the West during
the years of his activity and usefulness and today among the most flourish-
ing and aggressive churches in Tippecanoe and other counties are the ones
he planted during his early ministerial labors. He came to Lafayette in
1843, from which time until his death he was intimately associated with re-
ligious work in this section of the state, and few Methodist divines became
as widely known or accomplished as much in disseminating the principles
and doctrines peculiar to the church of which he was long regarded as one
of the strongest and most popular representatives. He had a passion for
the cause in which he was engaged, labored unselfishly and enthusiastically
for the good of his fellow men, hundreds of whom, through his able and elo-
quent ministrations, were induced to abandon the paths of sin and seek the nar-
row way that leads to life and happiness. Rev. Stallard is remembered as a
preacher of remarkable ability and power, clear and explicit in statement,
logical and convincing in reasoning and, possessing to a marked degree the
talents and graces of oratory, he frequently rose to the heights of impas-
sioned eloquence and never failed to hold the attention of the most critical
and exacting audiences, being in his prime a master of assemblages and the
peer of any of his contemporaries in all that constituted forensic ability
and force. After a long and useful career, devoted to the service of his
Master, this able and fearless champion of the cross laid down the weapon
of warfare and entered into the rest which is prepared for those who
persevere to the end, dying in Lafayette, in 1893, at the ripe old age of
eighty years, his first wife preceding him to the Silent Land in 1850. Of
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. ,TOI
their family of seven children, but two are living at this time, Robert J.,
a resident of Lafayette, and Samuel T., whose name introduces this review;
James P., Cyrus O., William A. and Robert J., the deceased members of
the family, grew to maturity. By a second marriage there were five off-
spring, four of whom survive, a daughter, now Mrs. Ann Davisson, be-
ing the only one living in Lafayette.
Samuel T. Stallard spent his childhood and youth at the various places
Where his father preached and after receiving a preliminary education in the
public schools, entered the Danville Academy, which he attended until the
breaking out of the great Civil war interfered with his studies. Actuated
by the patriotic motives which moved the loyal sons of the North, he dis-
continued his scholastic work in April, 1861, and enlisting in Company A,
Fifteenth Regiment Indiana Volunteer Infantry, with which he gave three
of the best years of his life to the service of his country. During this
period he shared with his comrades all the duties and dangers through which
his regiment passed, taking part in a number of noted engagements and
skirmishes, including the battles of Rich Mountain, Elk Water and Green
Brier in western Virginia, and later was with his command at Murfrees-
boro, Champion Hill and Missionary Ridge, in the Tennessee campaign,
receiving a gunshot wound in the right thigh in the engagement last named,
which caused him great suffering. Upon his recovery, in June, 1864, he
was discharged from the service, w'ith a record for brave and meritorious
conduct of which any soldier might well feel proud, and returned to Lafay-
ette immediately thereafter.
Mr. Stallard, on April 30, 1867, entered the marriage relation with
Mary Littleton, whose birth occurred at Middletown, Ohio, but who was
brought to Indiana by her parents when quite young, the family settling
in Tippecanoe county about the year 1846. Of the three children born of
this union, two, a son and a daughter, are living, the older, Charles T.,
being a practicing attorney of Lafayette and associated with his father
under the firm name of Stallard & Stallard, one of the best known and
successful law partnerships in the city. Sadye. the daughter, married Harley
A. Johnson, master mechanic of the Metropolitan Elevated Railroad of
Chicago, and resides in that city, both being graduates of Purdue Univer-
sity.
Mr. Stallard has been an honored citizen of Lafayette nearly all of
his life and it is needless to state that his interest in the growth of the city
and the promotion of its various utilities and enterprises has brought him
prominently to the front as a public spirited man of affairs. For twentv-
702 PAST AND PRESENT
five years he was attorney of West Lafayette and, in connection with his
profession, he has from time to time been identified with various measures
making for the material progress of the city and the best interests of its
populace, including among others, the \\'est Lafayette Building and Loan
Association, in the organization of which he took a leading part and for
twenty-eight vears he has held the office of secretary and treasurer. In
politics he is a Republican and has long been a power in local and general
affairs, contributing to the success of his party by his wise and judicious
advice, as well as by his activity as a worker and leader. The family of
which he is a creditable representati\e is a prominent and long-established
one in Lafayette and has ever stood for honorable manhood, sterling citi-
zenship and all that makes for correct living and high social status. His
own life record is unclouded by wrong or suspicion of evil and, having always
clung to whatever is of good repute, his name is regarded by those with
whom he mingles as a synonym of upright and straightforward conduct.
Charles T. Stallard. junior member of the law firm of Stallard & Son,
the older of the two living children of Samuel T. and Mary E. (Lit-
tleton) Stallard. was born in Lafayette. Lidiana. June 28. 1872. He re-
ceived his early educational discipline in the city schools, later attended Pur-
due University until completing the course and having decided to enter
the legal profession, prepared himself for the same by close and critical
study under the direction of his father. Mr. Stallard was admitted to the
bar in 1893 and the same year became associated with his father, under
the name of Stallard & Son, a firm as widely known in legal circles as any
other in the city of Lafayette and eminently successful, as indicated by the
large and steady growing practice. In his professional work, Mr. Stallard
is careful and painstaking, loyal to the interests of his clients, a safe and
reliable counselor, and in the trial of causes he has sustained his high repu-
tation as an attorney when opposed by some of the oldest and strongest mem-
bers of the Lafayette bar. His career thus far presents a series of successes
and, judging from his advancement in the past, his friends are justified
in predicting for him a future of still greater promise and usefulness. For
five ye^irs Mr. Stallard has l^een attorne\- for the incorporated town of
West Lafayette and for a period of ten years he held the office of town
clerk, discharging the duties of both positions with credit to himself and to
the satisfaction of the public. He is also the secretary and treasurer of the
West Lafayette Loan Association, the success of which is largely due to
his efforts, and for some time past he has been a member of the board of
trustees of the Young Men's Christian Association, besides ser\-ing the same
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 7O3
very acceptably as general secretary and physical director, having been con-
nected with the association and one of the most active and influential mem-
bers of the association since 1889. He belongs to Purdue Grove. No. 18,
United Ancient Order of Druids, having passed all of the chairs of the local
lodge and served as an officer in the grand lodge of the state. He is also
a member of the Masonic order. He is a Republican in politics and in reli-
gion he subscribes to the Methodist creed, holding membership with the
West Side Methodist Episcopal church of which he is a trustee.
Mr. Stallard was married June 14, 1904, to Henrietta j\I. Cassman.
daughter of Oliver H. Cassman, of Lafayette, the union resulting in the
birth of two children, Oliver E. and Marietta E., both bright and interest-
ing and adding greatly to the happiness and content of the domestic circle.
Mrs. Stallard, like her husband, is a Methodist in belief and an esteemed
member of the West Side church, being interested in the various lines of
work connected with the organization and in charitable enterprises of what-
ever name or order.
K. T. VYVERBERG. D. O.
The science of osteopathy has of recent years made rapid headway, and
the practitioners of this somewhat exacting profession are finding them-
selves in the front rank of men of science and the learned professions, with
their patronage rapidly growing. The name that heads this biographical re-
view is a well known one in this class and also one that stands for progress
in all lines in Tippecanoe county.
Dr. K. T. Vyverberg. the noted osteopathic physician of Lafayette.
Lidiana, is a native of Sherrill, Iowa, having first seen the light of day there
on September 27, 1877, the son of John and Caroline Vyverberg, being the
third child in order of birth in a family of eight children. He was reared
on the farm and assisted with the various duties incident to agricultural pur-
suits in the great farming belt of the Hawkeye state, and there he laid the
foundation for a healthful lx)dy and an active mind. He attended the district
schools during the winter months until he completed the course. He then
entered the high school at Dubuque, Iowa, from which he was graduated. He
then returned to the farm and for several years devoted his attention to farm
work, but on Jan^lary i, 1901, he gave way to a desire of long standing to
enter the American School of Osteopathy at Kirksville, Missouri, and after
pursuing a course of two years, during which time he made a verv com-
704 PAST AND PRESENT
mendable record, he was graduated with the degree of Doctor of Osteopathy.
Doctor \'yverberg at once located in Lafayette, Indiana, in the old Mil-
ford block, at the corner of Fourth and Ferry streets, and later moved to
No. 651 Main street, where he is now located. In the fall of igoC) he re-
entered the institution from which he had graduated, taking a one-year post-
graduate course, which placed him at the top of his profession. He now has
a liberal patronage by the people of Lafayette and surrounding country.
The Doctor was happily married to Nellie Hubbard, daughter of George
and Sarah Hubbard, the representative of an excellent family of Lafayette,
and to this union two children have been born, namely: Margaret C, born
January 15, 1906, and George H., born November g, 1907.
In his fraternal relations. Doctor Vyverberg is a member of the Knights
of Pvthias, Lodge No. 72, Kirksville, Missouri, also the Atlas Club at Kirks-
ville, Missouri, and in his church relations he supports the Presbyterian de-
nomination, being a member of the local church and a faithful attendant upon
the same.
Doctor Vyverberg passed an examination in accordance with state law
in Iowa in February, 1903, and in September of the same year he passed a
like examination before the state board of Indiana, he being the first osteo-
path to pass the examination in Indiana. He is a member of both the Indiana
and American Osteopathic associations, having served as secretary of the first
named.
HARRY C. SENSE.
The well-known contractor and progressive business man whose name
introduces this biographical review and who has for many years been one of
the leading representatives of the building trades in Tippecanoe county, is a
descendant of an old and highly honored family, members of which have
figured effectively in the affairs of northern Indiana since the pioneer days.
Harrv C. Sense was born in Clinton county. Indiana, on July 16. 1866. He
is the son of William H. and Susan (Guthrie) Sense, the former a native of
Tippecanoe county, and the latter was born in Clinton county, this state.
They were the parents of eleven children (li\'ing). one daughter dying in in-
fancy, the family consisting of six sons and five daughters. Elmer F.. the
oldest son, was born in Clinton county, Indiana ; he married Eva Harve\-. of
^Vabash township, and they are the parents of one son. Floyd. John E.
married Lulu Carnes, of Lafayette, and they are the parents of two sons.
HARRY C. SENSE
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. JO$
Glen and Paul. Clarence married Elda (jarman, of Mulberry, this county.
Harvey G. married Anna Jacoby, of Clinton county, and tliey are the parents
of one son. Clifford. Ottis G. married Miss Gasman, of Lafayette, and they
have two sons. The daughters of William H. and Susan Sense are Dora
A., married to Charles Wakeman and reside in Millersburg, Indiana; Ella
married Henry Haag and they reside in West Lafayette; Ada B. married
T. \V. Lugar and reside in West Lafayette; Jessie married Robert Foster,
of West Lafayette. Ida, at home.
Harry C. Sense spent his early life at home and received a fairly good
common school education. Early in 1891 he married Emma V. Click, who
lived near Mulberry, Indiana, where her family was long well established.
This union has resulted in the birth of two daughters, Hazel C. and Fairy
C. ; also one son, Harlan Ray.
Mr. Sense early in life decided to become a carpenter and builder by
trade and he set to work to learn the same, with the result that he has become
one of the most skillful workmen in this locality. Two of his brothers, who
became stone-masons, and one who learned carpentry, worked with him in
partnership, and they incorporated for the purpose of contracting and man-
ufacturing in 1904 under the firm name of Sense Brothers Company, and
ever since they have grown in the volume of business they carry on until
this is one of the important firms of Tippecanoe county, doing an extensive
business throughout this and adjoining counties. About 1906 they began
the manufacture of cement blocks. In the fall of that year and in the spring
of 1907 they added a planing mill and lumber yard, and in 1909 another de-
partment was added — tin and galvanized iron. Their business in all these
departments has steadily grown and the future outlook for the firm is de-
cidedly encouraging. They have handled some large jobs and their work
has always been eminently satisfactory, owing to their skill and the high
grade material they use, together with their strict honesty in dealing with
the public.
Members of this family all grew up in Tippecanoe county and the
brothers began making preparation to learn useful trades, and while working
on the farm which their father rented they often discussed the various phases
of the building trades. This farm was located in Perry township, near
Monitor.
Their father, William H. Sense, started a tile factory about. 1881 or 1882
on the farm which he worked, but he sold the tile factory about 1883 and
moved to Wabash township, north of Octagon, buying a tile factory there
which he managed successfullv for four or fi\-e vears. then sold it and pur-
(45)
7o6 PAST AND PRESENT
chased a farm in the same township. Then Harry C. Sense went to Mul-
berry and began learning the carpenter trade. After working at this trade
for two years he began contracting in a small way and, seeking a larger field
for his operations, he came to Lafayette, where he has since continued with
unabated success.
Mr. Sense is a man of excellent business ability, exercising rare sound-
ness of judgment and foresight and the fact that he has built up an extensive
and well patronized business from a very small beginning is evidence of his
industry and integrity.
FRANK KIMMEL.
Frank Kimmel, prosecuting attorney of the twenty-third judicial dis-
trict and one of the leading members of the Lafayette bar, is a native of
Tippecanoe county, Indiana, and a son of John and Tinnie (Newman) Kim-
mel, the father born in Germany, but since childhood a resident of the
county of Tippecanoe, where he is now engaged in business.
Louis Kimmel, the subject's grandfather, was reared in the old country,
but when his son John was about four years old immigrated to the L'nited
States and settled at Lafayette, Indiana, where he engaged in business and
in due time became one of the influential men of the city. At the breaking
out of the Civil war, he went to the front as captain of a company recruited
in Lafayette and served in that capacity until the cessation of hostilities.
Later, in 1871-72, 1877-78-79-80, he was elected mayor and held the office
with great credit. During the administration of President Benjamin Harri-
son, Captain Kimmel was assistant United States marshal, with headquar-
ters at Washington, D. C, and he was also in the government service for
some time in Alaska, besides filling various other official posts. After a
long and eminently useful career, Captain Kimmel discontinued active pur-
suits and for some years past has been living a life of honorable retirement
in the national capital, having reached the ripe old age of eighty-twD
years, but retaining to a marked degree the possession of his faculties, both
physical and mental.
John Kimmel, father of the subject, has spent all but four years of
his life in Lafayette and in point of continuous service is one of the city's
oldest and most enterprising business men. He has been engaged in the
book and stationery business for over thirty-five }ears, during which time
he has built up a flourishing establishment and in the lines of goods iiandled
TIPPECANOE COUNTYj IND. 70jr
commands the largest patronage in the city. For a number of j-ears he has
been active in promoting the progress of the community, served on the
county committee from 1885 to 1890, inclusive, and has always manifested
a lively interest in those measures and enterprises having for their object
the good of his fellowmen.
John and Tinnie Kimmel are the parents of three children, the sub-
ject being the oldest of the family; Estella, the second of the number, is still
at home, and John, Jr., the youngest, is assistant division engineer of the
Missouri Pacific Railroad, with headquarters at Little Rock, Arkansas.
Frank Kimmel, whose birth occurred at Lafayette, on May 25, 1876,
was reared in his native city and, after finishing the course of the graded
schools, entered Purdue University, where he pursued his literary studies for
a period of two and one-half years, when he became a student of the law
department of the University of Michigan. Entering the latter institution
in 1898, he applied himself diligently until completing the prescribed course
and receiving his degree in 1901, following which he practiced law one year
in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and then returned to Lafayette, where he soon
built up a lucrative professional business. He served five years as United
States commissioner and in 1908 was elected prosecuting attorney of the
twenty-third judicial circuit, for a term of four years, the duties of which
position he has since discharged with commendable ability, proving a very
capable and judicious ofificial, earnest and untiring in his efforts to uphold
the dignity of the law and bring the violators to the bar of justice, though
not lacking in the elements of sympathy and charity in cases where circum-
stances rather than intentions lead to the commission of crime.
Mr. Kimmel is well grounded in the principles of jurisprudence and
stands today among the leading lawyers at a bar which from the beginning
has enjoyed wide reputation for the commanding ability of its members. In
the trial cases he is careful and easily perceives the weak points in the po-
sition of his adversaries and before courts and juries frequently wins ver-
dicts by clear, cogent argument, which at times rises to the impassioned and
eloquent, but always logical and convincing. Mr. Kimmel is a Republican
and as such has rendered valuable services to his party in a number of
campaigns, being wise in council, judicious in leadership and an untiring
and influential worker. Capt. Louis Kimmel, his grandfather, was one of
the original Republicans of Indiana and a leader in the organization of the
party in Tippecanoe county, all of his male descendants being loyal to the
principles which he espoused and among the most active and influential local
politicians in the city of Lafavette.
708 PAST AND PRESENT
Mr. Kimniel has one of the finest collections of law books in the
city and when not otherwise engaged finds his greatest pleasure in poring
over their contents, thus adding to his legal lore and fitting himself for
greater efficiency in his chosen field of endeavor. His acquaintance with
the world's best literature is also general and profound and his library large
and carefully selected. Socially, he belongs to the Lincoln Club, a popular
political organization composed of the leading young Republicans of Lafay-
ette; he is also identified with the Lafayette Club and holds membership
with Lodge No. 143, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.
ALBERT R. JAMISON.
Albert R. Jamison, of the mercantile house of Jamison Brothers, La-
fayette, is a native of Tippecanoe county, Indiana, born in the township of
Tippecanoe on June 25, 1847. John W. Jamison, his father, was a Kentuckian
by birth, and his mother, who bore the maiden name of Prudence Wright, was
born in Maryland. These parents became residehts of Tippecanoe county
as early perhaps as 1832 and were married in Tippecanoe township, where
their respective families located on moving to their new home, in what was
then a somewhat wild and undeveloped country. John W. Jamison died
]March 28, 1876, at the age of fifty years, and his wife died September 21.
1903.
Of the eleven children born to John W. Jamison and his wife Prudence
all but one are living, their names being, in order of birth, as follows :
Albert R., of this review; James W. ; George A.; Oliver P.; Charles B. ;
Anna, widow of John N. Jackson; Nancy M., wife of Sylvester Jackson;
Belle Zora ; Clarence F. and Frank B. Four of the brothers are associated in
the mercantile business, under the firm name of Jamison Brothers, viz. : Al-
bert R., George A., Charles B. and Clarence F., the house of w-hich they are
the head being the largest of the kind in Lafayette and one of the most
successful in the state.
The mercantile business conducted by this well known and popular firm
was established November 5, 1879, by Albert R. Jamison, who, w-ith about
four hundred dollars capital, began in a modest way to deal in hardware,
harness, etc., and it was not long until his trade w-as such as to render
necessary the enlargement of the facilities, his patronage from the first far
surpassing his expectations. Increasing the stock to meet the demand of
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 709
his patrons and from time to time adding to tlie nnmber of tiis salesmen, he
kept pace with the city's advancement in mercantile interests, until within a
few years his store became one of the most successful of its kind in the
city and gave him prestige in business circles, here and elsewhere. Without
following in detail the rise and subsequent development of this large and
far-reaching enterprise, suffice it to say that during the first twelve years the
business grew so rapidly in volume and importance that at the expiration
of the period indicated it was deemed prudent to increase the capital and
perfect a more thorough organization. Accordingly, on December i, 1891,
the company was incorporated, with a capital of twenty-six thousand dollars
and given the name of Jamison Brothers, by which it has since been desig-
nated, the subject's three younger brothers having become partners in the
meantime. Since the latter date the progress of the firm has been un-
impeded and its success most gratifying, as the present flourishing condi-
tion abundantly attests, the invoiced stock on January i. 1909. amounting
to. fifty-eight thousand, nine hundred and seventy dollars and the standing
of the firm all that the proprietors or their friends could reasonably desire.
The Jamison Brothers carry full and heavy lines of general hardware,
harness, carriages, buggies and other vehicles, agricultural implements and
machinery and various other articles, the building in which the business is
conducted being admirably arranged and equipped and, to keep pace with
the demands of the trade, a force of fourteen men in the various depart-
ments is required. The building up of such a large and satisfactory busi-
ness bespeaks sound judgment and ability of a high order, both of which,
with other admirable characteristics, are possessed by the senior member,
to whom is due much of the success which the firm has attained and which
it now enjoys. He is a man of large executive capacity, thoroughly versed
in the multifarious principles of the lines of business to which the greater
part of his life has been devoted and. as already indicated, he occupies a
position of prominence and influence among the leading merchants of La-
fayette, as well as a place in the front rank of the county's representative
citizens. He h.is all the distinctive American mterest in public afifairs. is in
full sympathy with the spirit of the times and for many years has been
active in promoting the material progress of the city and the local and moral
advancement of his fellowmen. Like his honored father, he gives consid-
erable attention to political matters and votes the Republican ticket, but
his business has been of such a character as to prevent him from becoming
a politician or aspiring to the honors and emoluments of office.
7IO PAST AND PRESENT
The married life of Air.' Jamison dates from September 30. 1869, at
which time he was united in the bonds of wedlock with Zelina M. Pierce,
of Tippecanoe county, Indiana, the union being blessed with five children,
viz: Fred W., a travelling salesman, living in Lafayette; Alpha P., a
professor in the engineering department of Purdue University; Charles R.,
imnager of a department of the Berger Manufacturing Company of Can-
ton, Ohio; Olive M., wife of Richard Williams, of Indianapolis, and Mabel
P., now Mrs. Dean K. Chadbourne, of West Lafayette. Mr. Jamison has
always been a friend of higher education and it is a matter of no little grati-
fication and pride for him to know that all of his children received their
training in Purdue and earned honorable records in their respective classes.
In his religious belief he is a Baptist, as are all the members of his family,
and for a number of years himself and wife have been esteemed members
of the First church of that faith in the city of his residence.
DANIEL P. FLANAGAN.
For ten years a member of the Tippecanoe county bar, Daniel P.
Flanagan not only ranks among the leading lawyers of the city in which
he resides, but has also won an honorable place among the distinguished
lawyers of his native state. In no profession is there a career more open
to talent than in that of the law and in no field of endeavor is there demanded
a more careful preparation, a more thorough appreciation of the ethics of
life or of the underlying principles which form the basis of all human
rights and privileges. Unflagging application, intuitive wisdom and a de-
termination fully to utilize the means at hand are the concomitants which in-
sure success and prestige in this great profession which stands as the stern
conservator of justice, and it is a calling into which none should enter
without a recognition of the obstacles to be overcome and the battles to be
won, for success and distinction come only as the legitimate reult of capacity
and unmistaken ability. Such elements have entered into the successful
career of Mr. Flanagan, who, though not so long in the practice as some
of his contemporaries, has attained a high standing at the local bar and else-
where and is accounted one of the most successful practitioners in the city
of his residence.
A native of Tippecanoe county, Indiana. Mr. Flanagan was born in
Lafavette on the 4th of March, 1876, and is the sixth of the nine living chil-
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 71 1
dren of Patrick and j\Iary (Ryan) Flanagan, natives of Ireland. These
paren.ts were born, reared and married in county Limerick and shortly after
the birth of their eldest son, immigrated to the United States, coming almost
direct to Tippecanoe county, where Michael Flanagan, a brother of Patrick,
was then living and where four of the latter's children still reside. The
family of Patrick and Mary Flanagan at this time consists of the follow-
ing sons and daughters: David, the only one born in the old country;
Margaret, who married Charles Stefifen; Kate, wife of Timothy Sullivan;
Bridget, now Mrs. James T. Martin; John, Daniel P., Patrick. Jr., Michael,
and Mary, who is the wife of John Dolman, the subject being the only mem-
ber of the family to enter professional life.
Daniel P. Flanagan was educated in St. Ann parochial school and the
Union Business College of Lafayette and studied law under the direction
of Will R. Wood, in whose office he continued until his admission to the
bar in 1899. In that year he engaged in the practice at Lafayette and in due
time gained recognition as an able, energetic and honorable attorney, with
the result that his business continued to grow until he found himself on the
high road to professional and financial success. During the first three
vears he built up a large and lucrative practice, and in November, 1902,
he was nominated and elected prosecuting attorney of ihe twenty-third judi-
cial circuit, making the race as a Republican and defeating his Democratic
competitor by a handsome maojrity. His own ward, which was nominally
Democratic by a majority of two hundred and fifty, cast two hundred and
seventeen votes more for him than for his rival, and in 1904, when he stood
for re-election, he received in the same ward a majority of two hundred and
twelve, the largest vote given a Republican candidate in that part of the
city in fifty years.
Mr. Flanagan's growing success in the general practice enabled him to
enter upon his official duties with assurance of success, and it is freelv admit-
ted that the district has never had an abler or more energetic and faithful
prosecutor. Unremitting in his efiforts to enforce the law and mete out
justice to ofifenders, he brought many to trial and secured their conviction
and during his incumbency of four years his name became a terror to the
criminal classes, and infractions of the law were less frequent, until reduced
to the lowest minimum in the history of the circuit.
Since his retirement from the ofifice of prosecutor, Mr. Flanagan has
devoted himself closely to his constantly increasing general practice and now^
commands a very extensive business which is as successful financially as pro-
fessionally. From the beginning his patronage steadilv grew as he demon-
712 PAST AND PRESENT
strated his ability to handle with masterful skill the intricate problems oi
jurisprudence and he now has a large and representative clientele which
connects him with some of the most important litigation in the courts of
his own and other counties. In addition to his activity and advancement in
his profession, he has also been an influential factor in politics, being recog-
nized as an able exponent of the principles of the Republican party. With
the exception of the office of prosecuting attorney, lie has held no public
positions, but in campaign years he labors as earnestly for his party's candi-
date as he would for himself.
Mr. Flanagan is a married man. his wife having formerly been Mary
J. Straitman, a native of Lafayette, and a daughter of William and Frances
Straitman, the father a mechanic and well known resident of this city, dying
several vears ago. In his religious belief Mr. Flanagan is a Catholic; he
was born and reared in the mother church and has never . faltered in his
loyalty to its teaching, being at this time a member of St. Ann's parish,
under the pastorate of Rev. M. J. Byrne, and an earnest worker in its various
lines of activitv. Mrs. Flanagan is also identifiecl with the same church.
Fraternally, the subject holds membership with the Benevolent and Protective
Order of Elks, the Independent Order of Red Men, the Ancient Order of
Hibernians, the Catholic Order of Foresters, and the Lafayette Club, a social
organization made up of the leading young men of tlie city. Mr. Flanagan
is public-spirited in .all the term implies, has ever l)een interested in enter-
prises tending to promote the general welfare and withholds his support from
no movement for the good of the city, county or state. His personal rela-
tions with his fellowmen have ever been mutually pleasant and agreeable, and
lie is highly regarded socially, being easily approachable and a good mixer.
WILLIAM KIXG ROCHESTER.
W^illiam King Rochester, to whom Lafayette was largely indebted for
its growth and enterprise before the Ci\il war. was born May 3. 1822, id
Columbus, Ohio. His ancestry traces back to 1558. when the family was
allowed or confirmed the coat of arms described in the Heralds visitations
of the counties of Kent and Essex. England, as "Or a fesse between three
cresents sa." Nicholas Rochester, born in 1640, in the county of Kent,
England, emigrated in 1689 to the colony of Virginia, bringing his wife and
son William. He bought a plantation bordering Westmoreland and Rich-
THE ROCHESTER PLACE
^£:^^.
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 713
niond counties; his descendants lived there into the nineteentli centun-. tlie
last being Jeremiah Rochester, grandfather of Wilham King Rochester.
His fatlier, Ximrod Rochester, was born on the old homestead, still stand-
ing in excellent condition with the initials "W. R. 1746" cut in a broad
brick in the chimney corner, the home of William Rochester, father of Jere-
miah and grandson of Nicholas. In 181 7. Xinu-od Rochester, in company
with Thomas Howe, came north to Chiilicothe, Ohio, and on December 2Cth
was united in marriage to Jane King, whose family in the beginning of the
century had moved there from Burlington county. New Jersey. They went
to Columbus. Ohio, to li\e and there their seven children v-ere horn. mm;lv.
William. Mary. Sarah. Jeremiah. Hannah Jane, Ximrud and Geiirge. 'Sir.
Rochester returned but unce to \'irginia. at the time of his father's death,
in 1827. He and his son Jeremiah died of cholera, during the epidemic in
Augiist, 1833. Three years l?ter George King, Esq., of Chillic-the, brought
his sister and her children to Lafayette where relatives had preceded them.
In 1836 Mrs. Rochester bought the home on Fourth street, opposite the
little church where Henry Ward Beecher preached. William King Rochester
later had his own residence built on the site of his mother's cottage. At an
early age he was able to undertake the support of his mnther's fatnily. He
continued his education with pri\ate instructors and in a few years sent his
younger sisters to Wesleyan C( Ilege at Cincinnati, Ohio, where Sarah Ro-
chester and Lucy \\'ebb. afterwards wjfe of President Rutherford Hayes.
were room-mates. Mr. Rochester's talents as a business man were employetl
chiefly in buying and selling real estate. He was a director of the first Ijank
organized in Lafayette, the Branch of the State Bank of Indiana. In politics,
Mr. Rochester was an active member of the ^^'hig party, and in 1851. while
chairman of the county central committee, was jnit forward bv them as can-
didate for congress, but he afterwards withdrew from tlie race. In 18^8.
being desirous to have certain beneticiary legislation enacted, he became a
candidate for state senator. The election resulting in a tie, a special election
was held in which his Democratic o])|X)nent won.
On .April 5. 1854. Mr. Rochester married Madeline DuTiel. a descend-
ant of Charles Francis DuTiel, a royalist, who in 17Q0 was compelled to
flee from France to escape the revolutionists, and together with a number
of compatriots came to .America and were deeded by this government a
large tract of land in Scioto county, Ohio, called the French Grant. They
founded the city of Gallipolis, Ohio.
W^illiam King Rochester died May 23. 1862. The following, copied
from an editorial in the l.afaycttc Courier at the time of his death, shows the
esteem in which he was held by his contemporaries:
714 PAST AND PRESENT
"\V. K. Rochester, Esq., whose serious iUness we announced yesterday,
expired fifteen minutes to twelve today. The deceased was just forty years
old. in the prime of his life, and we speak the universal sentiment at large
in recording his untimely end as a great calamity to Lafayette. That in-
domitable energA' which was his distinguished characteristic, united to a
vigor of mind and a practical business capacity, made success in all his un-
dertakings a foregone conclusion and as the result of active application ex-
tending through a period of twenty-five years, he had acquired a large amount
of property and was on the high road to wealth and independence. Contrary
to a general rule and in vindication of his nobility of soul, his heart ex-
panded with his prosperity, and many a poor family in Lafayette today
mourns the loss of a friend and benefactor; cheap homes for the homeless,
was the philanthropic idea which inspired his enterprise. The neat, com-
fortable homesteads which, counted by the hundreds, grace his several addi-
tions to the city, as well as the public movements with which he was identi-
fied, are enduring monuments and will keep green his memory for many
years to come."
Mr. Rochester was survived by his wife and three daughters : Mary,
born April 4, 1862, died April 19. 1867; Ada. born June 23. 1856, married
February 20, 1892, to Judge Albert Duy Thomas, of Crawfordsville ; Eliza-
beth, born June 22, 1858. married July 13, 1881, to Samuel Probasco Baird;
Mrs. Baird died May 27. 1903. at Berne, Switzerland, and is survived by
Mr. Baird and their son. Rochester Baird. born September 19, 1882, now
one of the younger members of the Lafayette bar. Mrs. William King
Rochester died August 27, 1901.
WILLIAM J. ROSEBERY.
Eew citizens of Tippecanoe county are as widely and favorably known as
\\'illiam J. Rosebery. the oldest real estate dealer in Lafayette and one of
the citv's most useful and highly esteemed men. His life has become a part
of the history of the community in which he has made his home for many
years, and his long and honorable business career has brought him before
the public in such a way as to gain the esteem and confidence of his fellow-
m^n and give him a reputation such as few of his contemporaries have at-
fined. Keen perception, tireless energy and honesty of purpose, combined
with mature judgment and every-day common sense, have e\er been among his
TIPPECANOE COUNTY^ IND. 715
most prominent characteristics, and while laboring for individual sticcess and
for the material interests of the community, he has also been largely instru-
mental in promoting the moral welfare of those with whom he has mingled.
U'illiam J. Rosebery was born near Charleston, V^irginia, on the 15th
day of June, 1836, but in the fall of the same year he was brought to Indiana
by his parents and, with the exception of two years, has since lived in
Tippecanoe county. The father, Joshua Rosebery, was born in Maryland,
of German parentage, grew to maturity in the city of Baltimore and in early
life became a planter, though not a slave holder. He married, in Virginia,
Rebecca Bell and shortly after the birth of his second child moved to Clinton
county, Indiana, and settled at a place then known as Prairieville, about a
mile east of the present town of Clark's Hill, Two years later he came to
Tippecanoe county, where he engaged in agriculture, about one mile west of
the village of Wyandotte. After residing in that locality until the death of
his wife, some time in the early sixties, he went to live with his son, of whose
home he continued an inmate until his death, in 1870, at the age of sixty-five,
his wife having been fifty years old at the time of her demise. Joshua and
Rebecca Rosebery were the parents of five children, three sons and two
daughters, two of whom are living, the subject of this sketch being the
second one in order of birth. George, who was the oldest of the family and
a farmer by occupation, joined the Fortieth Regiment Indiana Volunteer
Infantry, at the beginning of the late Civil war, but by reason of disability
was obliged to quit the service before the expiration of his period of enlist-
ment. He never reco\ered from the sickness incurred while in the army,
dying a few years after his discharge and lea\-ing a family consisting of a
wife and son and three daughters. Frances, the third in succession, married
a J\lr. Saylors and is living in Howard county, this state; Jane, who also
resided in Howard county, was twice married, her second husband being
Andrew J. Harness. Joshua, the youngest of the family, a married man
and the father of one daughter, departed this life in Texas, at the age of
thirty-five.
The early life of William J. Rosebery was spent in this county and
until the age of nineteen he lived on his father's farm and assisted in culti-
vating the same. The first school he attended was taught by his aunt. Miss
Mary Bell, who used for the purpose the upper room of his father's dwelling,
the school being supported by subscription and patronage by the few families
living in the vicinity. Following this, he attended other subscription schools
in the neighborhood, later became a pupil of the public schools, in wliich he
fiin'shed the common branches, and then entered the high school at Davton
7l6 PAST AND PRESENT
where he completed his educational experience with a fair knowledge of the
more advanced C(xirses of study. In 1855. when hut nineteen years of age,
he was appointed bv John W. Martin deputy county treasurer, and served
under that gentleman for a period of two years and served four years in the
same capacitv under Salem F. Fry. his successor, during which time he dis-
charged his duties with such efficiency as to Ijring his name prominently
before the Republican party as an available candidate for the ofifice when
his principal's term should expire. When the convention assembled he w-as
the choice of the majority of the delegates and at the ensuing election, in
i860, he defeated his competitor by a handsome vote and during the four
years ensuing filled the oiifice with credit to himself and to the satisfaction
of the people of the county, proving a very capable and obliging official and
comparing favorably with the oldest of his predecessors.
.\t the expiration of his term as treasurer. Mr. Rosebery, at the earnest
solicitation of his successor, continued two years longer as the latter's deputy,
making a total of twelve consecutive years in the ofifice. during which period
he rendered a faithful account of his stewardship and retired with the confi-
dence and gocd will of his fellow citizens, irrespective of political affiliation.
Shortlv after resigning his deputyship. ]Mr. Rosebery became associated
with Messrs. Daggett, Potter and Martin in the manufacturing of flour and
linseed oil. The firm thus constructed operated a large mill and did an ex-
tensive business until the financial stringency of 1873 interfered very ma-
teriallv with the enterprise. Six years later the business was practically
ruined bv a destructive fire, which swept away the entire mill property. The
loss sustained was alnvist total and resulted in the firm being driven into
bankruptcy, as the only means of winding up its affairs.
Following this disaster. Mr. Rosebery accepted the position of deputy
county auditor, under Primus P. Culver, with whom he served two years, and
he also continued in the same capacity during the two succeeding terms under
his successors. Johnson and Barnes, a total of eight years in the office, with
the duties of which he became thoroughly familiar, conducting himself in this,
as in his funm-r official relations, with an eye single to the interests of the
public. At the expiration of the period indicated Mr. Rosebery resigned his
position and >htirtlv thereafter opened a real estate, loan and insurance office,
to which line of business he has since devoted him.self, building up a large and
lucrati\e practice in the meantime and taking high rank among the city's most
enterjjrising men and public-spirited citizens. He has been in his present
business since 1883. a period of twenty-six years, during which time he has
becoiue widely and favorablv known, doing a \ery satisfactory business in the
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 7I7
buying, selling and trading of property in the city and county, and command-
ing a very extensive patronage throughout Indiana and other states. Besides
keeping pace in the matter (^f loans and insurance with the most successful
of his competitors, he is at this time the oldest real estate dealer in Lafayette
and his many years of strenuous endeaxor have resulted in the comfortable
competency which he has accumulated for his declining years, also in the hon-
orable position he has attained in the esteem and confidence of his fellowmen.
Mr. Rosebery, on August 2. 1859. contracted a matrimonial alliance with
Mary .Martin, of Lafayette, daughter of John \V. and Sina (Lewis) Martin,
the father at one time treasurer of Tippecanoe county, and it was during his
term that his future son-in-law acted as deputy in the office. Four sons and
the same number of daughters have been born to ]Mr. and Mrs. Rosebery,
namely: Henrietta H. ; Clara B.. her father's assistant; Sina. wife of Edgar
B. Jameson, a grain dealer of Lafayette; William J., a salesman of machinery;
John M. ; Robert P., a telegraph operator, also a dealer in grain at Gibson
City, Illinois ; J. Wallace, who is engaged in the heating and lighting business
at Gary, this state, and Mary, a young lady, who is still a member of the home
circle. The family are members of the First Baptist church of Lafayette, and
in his political faith Air. Rosebery has been a life-long Republican, casting his
first presidential ballot in i860 for Abraham Lincoln. The subject and his
w ife celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of their marriage August 2, 1909. All
of their eight children are living and doing well in their respective spheres of
activity and the home is frequently cheered by the presence of six grandchil-
dren, all bright and interesting, with doubtless many years of usefulness before
them.
Mr. Rosebery was a firm anil uncompromising friend of the Union during
the Ci\il war and served a short time as a soldier, when Indiana was being
invaded by the Confederates under General John Morgan. During the period
of enlistment his principal duty consisted in patrolling the Ohio river, between
the cities of New Albany and Cairo on the steamboat ram "Hornet," but when
the presence of the enemy was no longer feared he received his discharge, there
being no further need of his services.
In closing this review of one of Lafayette's most highly respected citizens,
it is deemed proper to place before the reader certain facts which by reason of
becoming modesty, he might prefer to remain unsaid, but which, in order to
afford a true insight into his character and furnish an example worthy of emu-
lation by a young man just entering the struggle of life, are eminently worthy
of record in this connection. When the financial disaster, previously men-
tioned, befell him in the milling business and the firm was forced into bank-
71 8 PAST AND PRESENT
ruptcy. yir. Rosebery, thougli relieved by due process of law from any legal
obligation to pay such debts as were thus barred, felt that a moral obligation
obtained, a conclusion shared by his wife. Accordingly they disposed of all of
their property, ignoring the wife's dower rights, and by strict economy finally
succeeded in settling the indebtedness to the last dollar. This magnanimous
act is worthy of all praise and in all probability it was the nucleus to an era
of prosperity in future years, which has placed the worthy couple in comfort-
able circumstances, free from the embarrassing thought of having wronged
any man, even through the technicalities of the law.
As already stated, the Roseberys are among Lafayette's most honored and
esteemed families, a distinction accorded them not in recognition of great
wealth, exalted literary attainments or brilliant social prestige, but because of
sterling worth, peaceful and happy home life, filial affection, the domestic
allurements and, above all, by the determination to deal justly by all men and
to lay up treasures for another and happier sphere of existence.
DARIUS H. FRAZER.
An honorable representative of one of the esteemed families of Tippe-
canoe county and a gentleman of high character and worthy ambition, the
subject of this sketch fills no small place in the public view, as the important
official positions he has held since 1895 bear witness. Benjamin Franklin
Frazer, the subject's father, was born in \Mieeling, West \'irginia. He
married Mary McDill, of Ross county, Ohio, and came to Indiana a number
of years ago, settling in Tippecanoe county, where his death occurred when
his son Darius was about three years old. Mrs. Frazer, who was born No-
vember 30, 1 81 6, bore her husband four children, and departed this life on
the 2d day of June, 1882. Of the family of this worthy couple two are
living at the present time, viz. : ISIaria, wife of Simeon S. Sims, of Indian-
apohs, and the subject of this review. Elizabeth died when a young woman
twenty-six years old, and Eliza was called away at the age of twenty, Darius
H. being the youngest of the family.
Darius H. Frazer was born August 14, 1853, in Tippecanoe county,
Indiana, spent his early years on the family homestead in Wabash township
and grew to manhood with well defined ideas of life and its duties and re-
sponsibilities. In his youth he attended the district school near his home
until obtaining a practical knowledge of the English branches, and as soon
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 719
as old enough was taught the lessons of industry and thrift on the home
farm, which he helped to cultivate and which has been in the family name
ever since purchased by his father many years ago. On reaching the years
of manhood, Mr. Frazer assumed the management of the farm and in due
time became one of the leading agriculturists and stock raisers of Wabash
township, which representation he still retains. He now owns the home place,
a beautiful and highly productive farm of one hundred and tifty-two acres,
on which are some of the best improvements in the locality and which he
cultivates by means of hired help, the man under whose personal supervision
it is now operated having been in his employ for twenty-five years. Mr.
Frazer has been active in politics ever since attaining his majority, and for
twenty-five years has wielded an influence for the Republican party second
to that of few of his contemporaries. ■ He early became familiar with the
history of parties and their principles and has always been in touch with
the leading questions and issues of the day, on all of which he keeps himself
well informed and abreast of the times. For a number of years he has been a
potent factor in local affairs and a leader of his party in \\'abash township,
where he served very acceptably as trustee, filling the office five years and
three months and discharging the duties of the same in a manner highly satis-
factory to his constituents. He also held the position of supervisor for five
years, during which time he was untiring in his efforts to improve the public
highways of his jurisdiction and afford an example much to their credit. In
1906 he was considered the most available Republican in the county for
sherifif, and in the convention of that year he easily led all competitors and
received the nomination, his triumphant election following. Since taking
charge of the office, Mr. Frazer has been unremitting in his duties, proving
a capable and popular sheriff, determined in his efforts to enforce the law
and bring its violators to justice. That he has proved an efficient and good
sheriff is attested by the fact that at the close of his first term he was re-nomi-
nated and re-elected, defeating a popular competitor and carrying much more
than the normal strength of the Republican ticket in the year 1908. The
better to discharge his official functions, he moved in 1906 to the county
seat, but, as already stated, still gives personal attention to his agricultural
interests, carefully looking after the management of his farm.
Mr. Frazer is a splendid type of the intelligent, up-to-date American,
in the full sense of the term a man of the people with their interests at heart.
As a citizen he is progressive and abreast of the times in all that concerns
the common weal. .Mthnugb a partisan, with strong convictions and well
defined o|)iniijns on questions concerning which men and parties divide, he
720 PAST AND PRESENT
has the esteem and contidence of the people of the community, and liis per-
sonal friends are as the numl3er of his acquaintances, regardless of party
ties.
The domestic chapter of Mr. Frazer's life dates from 1882, on March
6th of which year he was married to Artentia Surface, daughter of Samuel
and Nancy Surface, a native of Cass county. Indiana, a union blessed with
five children, viz. : Mary, who married John Mantle, and lives on a farm
in Wabash township: Frank, formerly a turnkey of the county jail and at
present a conductor on the street railway: he, too, is married, his wife having
formerlv been Anna Brown, of Lafayette : Margaret, the third child in order
of birth, died at Marcelline. Missouri, August 8, 1907, at the age of twenty-
two ; Homer is a street car conductor ; and Lillian is the wife of Albert Ross,
residing in West Lafayette. !Mr. Frazer and family are members of the
Methodist Episcopal church, active in religious duties and liberal in con-
tributing to the spread of the gospel, at home and in heathen lands. Socially,
they are greatly esteemed, and since moving to Lafayette have made many
acquaintances and warm friends among the best people of the city.
M. M. LAIRY. yi. D.
Dr. M. AL Lairv, who by the inherent force of his own industry and
determination has achievetl success in his chosen profession, and who is now
one of the highly honored practicing physicians of the thriving city of Lafay-
ette, justly demands recognition in the annals of his county and the following
sketch will present a brief review of his career.
The Doctor was born October 6. 1863, the sen of Alexander and ]\Lary A.
(Tsley) Lairy, both of whom were natives of Ohio and by their respective par-
ents were brought to Tippecanoe county, Indiana, when they were yet in child-
hood. The father died when the subject of this notice was a mere child, after
which the lad had to make his way through life unaided by the care and sup-
port usually afforded a son. He remained on a farm until sixteen years of
age. when he had received a district school education. He was imbued with a
laudable ambition, however, to accomplish something among the ranks of his
fellowmen, and had frequent visions of a professional career. It was in 1879
when he entered the Collegiate Institute at Battle Ground, Indiana, and some-
time later became a student at' the State L'niversity at Bloomington, Indiana,
when within one year of graduation, he was greatly disappointed at finding
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. J2\.
that on account of sickness and close confinement he was compelled to leave
his classes. But after a short time engaged at other work, he was so far re-
covered that he was permitted to engage in teaching school, w'hich profession
he followed for four years, during which period he met with a gratifying suc-
cess as an instructor. ^Meanwhile he had commenced the study of medicine
under Dr. William S. Walker, of Lafayette, and subsequently he matriculated
at the Kentucky School of Medicine, at Louisville, from which most excellent
institution he graduated in 1892. But wishing to be fully posted along lines
not already covered in his medical course, he took a year's course in the Indi-
ana ]\Iedical College, at Indianapolis, from which he graduated in 1893, after
which he immediately came to Lafayette and established himself in practice.
His success has been a marked one from the first, his large patronage including
many of the best families within the city. He is a thorough reader of medical
literature and keeps fully abreast with the times in which he lives, and also
takes advantage of the latest discoveries in the science of medicine. In society
matters, the Doctor is a worthy member of the Tippecanoe ^Medical Society,
the State Medical Society, and the American Medical Association. He is a
pronounced Democrat in his political views. In 1898 he was elected a member
of the Lafayette city council, from the second ward of the city, and in 1906
he was elected a member of the city school board of which he is now the pre-
siding officer.
That Doctor Lairy is a leader among men is seen when it comes to the
number and importance of the various positions he has held. He is a member
of the visiting stafif of St. Elizabeth's Hospital ; member of the lecturing staff
'^f the State Soldiers' Home; member of the medical staff of St. Joseph's
Orphanage ; surgeon for the Fort Wayne & Wabash Valley Traction Com-
pany, medical director of the Lafayette Life Insurance Company and the local
examiner for several insurance companies. Like many of the present day pro-
fessional men, the Doctor is identified with civic societies as follows : Member
of the Knights of Pythias, having passed through all the chairs in this order ;
also belongs to the Woodmen of the World and the Benevolent and Protective
Order of Elks, in which order he was trustee for four years.
Doctor Lairy was united in marriage September 22, 1902, to Annie Cas-
sel, the daughter of John and Catherine Cassel. The widowed mother of
Doctor Lairy married C. H. Grimes. She died in the month of February,
1902; ]Mr. Grimes now resides in Fountain county. By the second marriage
of his mother there was one son born. Rev. J. E. Grimes, who is now pre-
siding eleder in the United Brethren church.
(46)
^2,2 PAST AND PRESENT
MYROX E. LE GALLEY. D. D. S.
Few prufessional men have "made good" more rapidly in the same
length of time as this ixjpular and progressive young dentist. Back of a
fine educational equipment, up-to-date and first class in every particular, is
found the abounding energy, the knowledge of human nature, the social
diplomacy and address which furnish the keys to success. The Doctor has
been in Lafayette but thirteen years, yet in that comparatively short period
he has forged to the front until he is recognized as one of the leading dentists
of this part of the state. There has been a steady growth and continuous
progress with the result that, financially, Doctor Le Galley may be said
to be sitting independently in the mansion of his own building. The family
is of Ohio origin, their residence for many years being at Bowling Green.
There, on tlie i6th of ^lay, 1872, ]\L E. Le Galley was born, his parents
being- John H. and ]\Iary S. (\\'hite) Le Galley. Besides himself, there
were two cliildren, one. Dr. Henry W. Le Galley, a dentist in practice at
Bowling Green, and a twin brother of the subject, Marion Eugene, also a
dentist, who died in October, 1907. The father was a farmer and the three
boys had the benefit that comes from the out-of-door life incident to agri-
cultural pursuits. They, however, had ambitions that led them away from
farm life, their aspirations being for professional careers. After the usual
routine in the district and high schools, Myron E. Le Galley became a student
in the Indiana Dental College at Indianapolis, where he applied himself with
a vigor that bespeaks the ambitious pupil. He began his studies in the
fall of 1892, and three years later, in the spring of 1895, was made happy
by receiving the sheep-skin which certified his degree of Doctor of Dental
Surgery and indicated his graduation from a standard school. He found
an opening in the Indiana state capital and hastened to take advantage of it,
with that sagacity that has always characterized his actions. Prof. E. E.
Reese needed an assistant and the recent graduate accepted, having been the
Professor's assistant while a dental student, but this last engagement lasted
only one year, as Doctor Le Galley was desirous of an independent business
of his own as soon as possible. He had for some time had an eye on La-
fayette as one of the largest and wealthiest of the state's county seats, and
on July I, 1896, we find him duly installed as a dentist in the progressive
capital of Tippecanoe county. At first he worked as an assistant to Dr.
Frank I\L Hamsher, later purchased a half interest in the business and
eventually owned it all. He was successful from the start, and his practice
has increased bv a steady ratio until it is now extensive and valuable. He
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 723
numbers among his clients the most prominent and wealthy people of La-
fayette, and patients ccme from all the towns and cities for miles around.
He is kept busy during all the woiking hours and the measure of his succ^.s
is ample proof of the quality of his professional work. His office is equipped
with the latest appliances in his progressive profession, and nothing that
science can do to mitigate pain or cunningly furnish a substitute for nature
is omitted from the equipment of Doctor Le Galley.
In 1899 Doctor Le Galley married INIildred ^Nlay Rinker, and has two
sous: Kenneth B., born November 29, 1900, and Robert R., born February
28, 1903. The Doctor ranks high in his profession and is an honored member
of the State and Northern Indiana Dental Societies, as also the association of
local dentists. His other fraternal, religious and professional connections
embrace membership in the Knights of Pythias and \\'oodmen of the World,
he being prelate in the first mentioned order. He is a member of the First
Baptist church and chairman of its finance committee, and is also a stock-
holder in the Casualty Security Association of Indianapolis. Though his
early training politically led him into the Democratic fold, he is quite inde-
pendent in his views, and in voting at local elections refuses to be bound by
party lines, preferring to select those who in his judgment are the best men.
In all the relations of life, business, political, religious, professional, fraternal
or social. Doctor Le Gallev is regarded as a model citizen.
EDWARD C. DA\TDSON. M. D.
A descendant of an old and influential family and a physician who has
won the confidence and good will of a large clientele of representative people
of Tippecanoe county is the gentleman whose name forms the caption of this
biographical sketch, to a brief review of whose career the reader's attention
is called in the following paragraphs.
Edward C. Davidson was born in Lafayette, Indiana, January 30, 1867,
the son of Hon. R. P. Davidson, for many years one of the leading public
men of the county, whose wife bore the maiden name of Jennie Claybough,
and to this union seven children were born, of whom Edward C. Davidson
was the youngest in order of birth. Two of their sons are deceased ; the rest
are attorneys at law. each making a record in that profession.
The subject passed through the common schools and decided to devote
his life to the noble profession of medical science. With that end in view he
entered Purdue University, where he took a literary course, also studied
724 PAST AND PRESENT
pharmacy, making a commendable record in both. He then entered the
medical department of the University of Michigan, from which he graduated
in 1 89 1, receiving the degree of Doctor of Medicine. In 1891 he took a
post-graduate course in one of the medical colleges of Chicago. In the same
year he located in Lafayette and began practice, and he has since met with
very marked success, having built up a large practice not only in the city of La-
favette but also throughout Tippecanoe county, and he is often called to re-
mote localities in consultation with other physicians whose skill has been
bafifled. In 1895 Doctor Davidson was married to Lauretta Johnson, who
was the representative of a fine old familw well known in this county. After
a happy wedded life of about eleven years, Mrs. Davidson was called to her
rest in 1906. One winsome little daughter, Dorothy, brightens the Doctor's
home, and is attending the common schools.
Doctor Davidson is not a public man, although interested in whatever
tends to advance the interests of his native community. In his fraternal
relations he belongs to the ]\Iasonic order, and is also a member of the county,
state and national medical societies, in all of which he takes an abiding inter-
est. He is a member of the staff of the St. Elizabeth Hospital.
ABRAM BALEXTIXE.
A man of scholarly attainments, yet of practical turn of mind, who left
the indelible impress of his sterling personality upon all with whom he came
in contact, was Abram Balentine, for many years a prominent citizen of I,a-
fayette, Indiana. He was born in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania!. June 7. 1835,
and his parents were natives of that state where they spent their lives. Abram
grew up in his native community, where he attended school and became well
educated, for he was always of a studious nature and easily mastered what-
ever subject he attempted. Upon reaching maturity he conceived the idea
that larger opportunities awaited him in the then practically new but grow-
ing country of the middle West. Coming to Indiana, he soon secured a foot-
hold and made a comfortable living, having learned steam engineering and
mastering every detail of this line of work. He. therefore, spent the major
part of his mature years working as a stationary engineer, being considered
an e.xpert. His death occurred May 7, 1904.
Mr. Balentine was married, on September 24, 1861. to Mary :\I. Xalley,
the wedding occurring three miles south of Lafayette at the home of Mrs.
Balentine's parents. Walter and Sarah (Reed) Nalley. She was born in
WILLIAM S. POTTER
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 725
Piqua, Miami county, Ohio, ^lay i8, 1845, where she grew to maturity anc!
from where her parents moved to Tippecanoe county, Indiana, wliile she was
yet a young woman. She received a fairly good education in the common
schools. To Mr. and Mrs. Balentine four children, three daughters and one
son, were born, namely: Luella J., born June 28, 1863, married Joseph
Petitt, September 10, 1879, and after becoming the mother of two children,
died August 28, 1896; Lucinda Balentine, born in White county, Indiana,
May 17, 1865, married on December 17, 1884, and became the mother of one
son; William R. Balentine, born in White county, January 18, 1868. married
September 25, 1889, and has two daughters; Mary Alice Balentine, born
November 22, 1876. married April 10, 1899, and one daughter was born
to her who is now deceased.
The cozy and commodious Balentine home is at Xo. 15 12 North Thir-
teenth street, in which cummunity members of this ideal househi.ld are
popular. They belong to the }.lethodist Episcopal church. These children all
received liberal educations, having attended school at Chalmers, Battleground,
Monticello and a college of music in Indianapolis. ^Irs. Balentine, being a
woman of an artistic turn of mind, took a delight in fostering the esthetic
element in her children and in giving them every advantage to develop the
higher principles of their being. She is a very industrious, though modest
and home-loving woman, a thoroughly good mother and kind neighbor, and
she proved to be a faithful helpmeet to her husband, who was of a decided
mechanical turn of mind,, a great reader and student of mechanics, practical,
fatherly and kind-hearted, winning and retaining the friendship of all classes.
The\- have reared a family of children of whom any one might be proud, the
wholesome atmosphere about this home ha\ing ever been pure and uplifting.
WILLIAM S. POTTER.
The inevitable law of destiny accords to tireless energv and industrv a
successful and honoraljle career and in no field of endeavor is tiiere greater
opportunity for advancement than that of the law — a profession whose
votaries, if distinguished, must be endowed with native talent, rectitude of
character, singleness of purpose and broad general knowledge. William S.
Potter fully meets all these requirements of his chosen profession and stands
today among the leading lawyers of the city in which he lives, and is justly
esteemed one of the able business lawyers of the northern Indiana bar.
\\'illiam S. Potter, a native of Indiana, was born at the Potter home-
stead, corner of Columltia and Tenth streets, Lafavettc, in the vcar i8ss.
726 PAST AND PRESENT
being the eldest son of A\'illiam A. and Eliza ( Stiles) Potter. The father.
a Xew Yorker by birth, came to Lafayette in 1843 and engaged in the mer-
cantile business, later becoming a large manufacturer and an influential man
of affairs. The mother was born in Suffield. Connecticut; came to Indiana
in 1850 and settled in Lafayette, where her marriage to ^Ir. Potter took
place soon afterwards.
William S. Potter was reared in his native city, and after attending
both public and private schools entered the Massachusetts Agricultural Col-
lege, Amherst, Massachusetts, from which he was graduated in 1876. Re-
turning to Lafayette, he entered as a law student in the office of ^^'allace &
Rice, where he continued until his admission to the bar about the year 1878.
When the firm of Wallace & Rice was dissolved, he became associated in the
practice with the former gentleman, but later being offered a full partnership
with Captain Rice he accepted the same and the firm thus constituted lasted
twenty years, during which time both members rose to eminence in their pro-
fession. Since the dissolution of the above partnership, caused by the death
of Captain Rice, in 1901, JMr. Potter has practiced alone, his legal abilities
and sound judgment attracting to him a large and lucrative clientage and
giving him an honorable reputation among the leading men of his profession
in the northern part of the state. While well grounded in the principles of
jurisprudence and successful in the general practice, for some years past he
has given special attention to law relating to business and real estate, in which
he is considered an authority.
Li addition to his professional duties. Mr. Potter has large and important
real estate interests, and in the improvement of lands and city property he
has 'done as much and achieved as great results as any other man in his city
or cnuntv. similarlv engaged. He is vice-president and director of the Xortli-
ern Indiana Land Company, an organization owning twenty-five thousand
acres rf land between T,"fayette and Chicago, which were bought for devel-.
opment and mvnn e.-vnt. also has important holdings in Texas and Chicago
real estate. In connection with the interests referred to he is also identified
with various other enterprises, notably the banking Inisiness. in which his
success has been marked and continuous, being at this time vice-president and
director of the National Fowler Bank, besides having interests in various like
institutions in other cities and towns.
Mr. Potter has always kept in close toucli with tlie material progress
and improvement oi Lafayette, and all laudable movements to these ends
have found in him a zealous advocate and liberal patron. He is a member
of the directorate of the Merchants Electric Light .Association, and is also
similarlv connected with the Lincoln Life Insurance Company. Aside from
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. T^7
the various public euterprises with which lie is identified he has ever mani-
fested a lively regard tor the social and moral advancement of Lafayette,
to which ends he has given liberally of his time and means and is justly
esteemed as a true and tried friend of all measures and movements havmg
for their object the welfare of his fellowmen.
As a lawyer, ^Ir. Potter, as already indicated, stands high among his
compeers, and as a financier and broadminded business man has achieved
success and wields an influence and prestige which place him in the front
rank of Indiana's men of affairs. He is essentially a man of the people with
the best interests of humanity at heart — in fine, a typical American whose love
of country is paramount to every other consideration, and who discharges
the duties of citizenship with a spirit in keeping with the genius of our in-
stitutiLus.
In the year 1885, Air. Potter was married to Fanny \V. Peck, of Troy,
Penns}'lvania. Mrs. Potter is a member of the Society of Dames and
Daughters of the American Re\-olution. ^^Ir. and Mrs. Potter have one son,
George L. Potter, who was graduated in 1909 from Howe ^Military School,
a preparatory school of Har\ard University, and is now traveling abroad. In
their religious belief they subscribe to the Presbyterian faith, and belong to
the Second church of that denomination in Lafayette, Mr. Potter being a
trustee of the organization. Associated with Oliver Goldsmith, he had charge
of the erection of the church building, and when the edifice was destroyed by
fire soon after its crectinn the same two gentlemen were selected to rebuild,
with the result that the church has one of the most beautiful and attractive
temples of worship in the city.
As indicated in a preceding paragraph. 3.1r. Potter has contributed much
to the material improvement of Lafayette, not tlie least among which is
the splendid residence fronting on State street near Ninth, which he now
occupies. This sightly mansion was originally built by the state of Con-
necticut to represent that state at the World's Fair at St. Louis, but when
the fair closed it was purchased by Mr. Potter, who had it dismantled, packed
in cars and shipped to Lafayette. In preparing a site for the structure he
procured a tract of four acres on State street, from which he removed the
buildings and erected the present structure thereon, making one of the most
beautiful and attractive residences in the state. The edifice is a perfect tvpe
of the colonial mansion of olden times, being modeled after several historic
homes of Connecticut, the main part three stories high, the wings two
stories. The porch is also two stories and, extending half across the front, is
semi-elliptical in shape and suppcrtcd liy four huge fluted columns of stone.
728 PAST AND PRESENT
An elnborate colonial doorway affords entrance to the main part of the build-
ing and some of the interior woodwork, taken from the historic Hubbard-
Slater home in the city of Xorwich. Connecticut, adds interest as well as
beauty to the apartments which it adorns. The great central hall is open
through both stories, the upper rooms forming a gallery w-hich is wainscotted
to the ceiling in the fashion greatly admired by previous generations. The
edifice, which is complete in all of its parts, is finished in the highest style of
the builder's art, and, with its elaborate furnishing and broad, attractive lawns.
walks bordered with beds of beautiful flowers and containing a number of
gigantic forest trees and many other beautiful and pleasing features, combine
to make a complete and luxurious home. ^luch has been written in the
various magazines about this house and surroundings, on account of its his-
toric interest, and numerous pictures of it ha\-e appeared in different illus-
trated periodicals, but to be appreciated it must be seen, as but a faint con-
ception of its size, beauty and attractive features can be obtained from photo-
graphic reproduction.
Mr. Potter has not been sparing of his means in surrounding himself and
family with the comforts and luxuries of life and, being financially inde-
pendent, he takes great pleasure in his home and in travel each year and is
well situated to enjoy the many blessings which have come to him as the
result of his business acumen and success.
DOC I. NEWTON.
It is deemed eminently appropriate at this place to call the reader's at-
tention to the life history of the gentleman whose name introduces this
sketch, owing to the fact that his life has always been such as to inspire
confidence and admiration on the part of his fellow citizens and he is today
reckoned as one of the leading men of his township.
Doc I. Newton was born on a fnrni in ^ilontgomery countv near the
boundary line between Montgomery ami Tippecanoe counties. He is the
son of Henry and Mary A. (Muir) Newton, botli natives of Indiana, having
been born and reared near Lawrenceburg, where they married in 1842 and
settled on a farm, where their son. Doc I., of this review, was torn in 1865.
Shortly afterward they moved to a farm in Tippecanoe county (Randolph
township) where the family remained until after the death of the father
on January 27. 1884, having died shortly before his fifty-fifth birthdav. His
TIPPECANOE COUNTYj IND. 729
widow, a woman of Ijeautilul Christian attrilxites, still survi\es. Ijeing now
seventy-four years old, and her residence is at Romney. They were the
parents of eleven children, six boys and five girls, nine of whom are still
living, Doc I. being the fifth in order of birth. These children rellect the
wholesome home environment in which they were reared and are worthy
descendants of a man whose life was exemplary in every respect and who
was highly esteemed by all who knew him.
Doc I. Newton attended the schools in Romney, and having completed
the prescribed course there, he spent one year in the Ford high school where
he made a splendid record, having intended to remain until he graduated,
but he was compelled to return home and assist with the farm work, his
father having died. He remained at home with his widowed mother until
1890 when he began life for himself as a fanner. In 1893 the domestic
chapter in his life began, he having espoused Mary E. ]\I. Beach in Lafayette,
Indiana, a woman of* refinement and the daughter of an old and honored
family. She was born in Romney on November 2, 1870, the daughter of
Joshua X. and Ellen Tracy ( House) Beach, both natives of Indiana. ]\Irs.
Beach is deceased, and Mr. Beach is living in Lafayette, having re-married.
After a happy wedded life of comparatively brief duration, Mrs. Newton
passed to her rest Noveinber 10, 1907. Four children were born to this
union, namely: Burnys is now (1909) ten years old: Paul and ]\[ax ard
both deceased ; Howard Everett, aged two years.
yiv. Newton with his two children reside in one of the finest homes in
Romney, which cost nearly eight thousand dollars. It is elegantly furnished
and in the midst of beautiful surroundings. Besides this Mr. Newton is the
owner of se\en hundred acres of fine farming land in Tippecanoe county,
which, under his able management, has produced iDounteous crops from year
to year and it is well kept in every respect Grandfather House, ancestor
of Mrs. Newton, was one of the oldest pioneers in Tippecanoe county, hav-
ing come here when the county \\as yet the home of red men and wild
beasts. He owned between seven hundred and eight hundred acres of land
in Randolph township. During his life there was no Methodist church in.
Romney, and he being a good Christian and strongly devoted to the ]\Ieth--
odist faith, arranged for the erection of a ^Methodist church building, which
still serves for the local congregation, he having donated the same to the
people of Romnev for a place of worship. The building cost five thousand
dollars. Grandfather and grandmother House are both sleeping the sleep
of the just in the cemetery at Romney, as also are their two children, the
onlv ones born to them.
730 PAST AND PRESENT
Mr. Newton is known as a very religious man and has been a member
of the Methodist church practically all his life. He has been a member of
the board of trustees of the church for a period of ten years, which office he
still very creditably fills, always taking- a delight in doing what he can in
furthering the work of the church, or, indeed, any other work looking to the
moral or material advancement of his county. He has always been a Re-
publican, but has never been an active worker in the ranks and has never
sought nor held public office. He is a pleasant man to meet, affable, genial,
courteous and hospitable and he holds high rank among the representative
citizens of Tippecanoe county where he is well and favorably known and
where he has led a verv consistent and industrious life.
HOX. JAMES LIXDSEV CALDWELL.
James L. Caldwell not only h(ilds distinctive precedence in his profession,
but during the more than thirty-six years that have elapsed since becoming
a resident of Lafayette he has always had deeply at heart the well being and
improvement of the city. On the paternal side, Mr. Caldwell is descended
from sterling Revolutionary ancestry, his great-grandfather, Alexander Cald-
well, a native of Pennsylvania and among the early pioneers of Kentucky,
having served in the struggle for independence under General Washington.
Alexander Caldwell married and, as already stated, moved to Kentucky in
1784, when it was indeed "The Dark and Bloody Ground." and there estab-
lished a family, among his children being a son named for himself, .\lexander,
whose birth occurred in Nicholas C(^unty, in an early day. and who chose
for his wife Hannah Sample, \\-ho was horn and reared in that part of the
state. Like his father, Alexander, Jr., was a tiller of the soil and a man of
influence in the community. He bore an active part in the material develop-
ment of his county, manifested a lively interest in civic matters and for a
number of vears was prominent in public affairs, and in no small degree a
leader among his neighbors and fellow citizens. He, too. reared a family
and migrated to Boone ccmnty. Indiana, during the pioneer days of the
thirties and settled on a farm abnut live miles from Thnrntown. where he
spent the remainder of his life, he and his faithful wife dying when well
advanced in years.
Tames Harvev Caldwell, a .son of the above mentioned, was born in
Nicholas countv, Kentuckv, januarv 30, 181 7, and was a young man when
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 73 1
lie accompanied his parents to Indiana. He married Ellen Tiberghein, a
native of ]Miami county, Ohio, and a granddaughter of Charles Tiberghein, a
French immigrant who arrived in America in the time of the colonies and
served with distinction in the Revolutionary war, making two of her mother's
grandfathers who fought in the struggle, hence it will be readily inferred
that the subject's descent from heroic ancestry is beyond question, and today
there are few, if any. Sons of the American Revolution with as clear a title
')i- as many bars to their credit. James Harvey and Ellen Caldwell spent the
greater portion of their lives on the home farm in Boone county, and were
highly respected by their neighbors and friends. They possessed many of the
qualities of mind and heart that beget confidence and insure popularity,
always lived according tn their high conceptions of duty and exercised a
wholesome moral influence in the community where they made their home
for so many years. Mr. Caldwell died on the family homestead, five miles
from Thorntown, July i6, 1888, his widow surviving him until Xo\-ember
26, 1892. The familv of this estimaiile couple consisted of two sons, Albert
\\\, who was born June 18, 1845, and James Lindsey, the subject of this
review, whose birth occurred on June 29, 1849.
Both of the Caldwell brothers spent their childhood and youth on the
home place in Boone county, and after a preliminary educational discipline
in a school at W^alnut Grove, under the auspices of the society of Friends,
entered the academy at Thorntown, where they made substantial progress in
the higher branches of learning, the training thus received being afterwards
supplemented by a full course in the Stockwell Collegiate Institute, at that
time in Tippecanoe county. After Albert's graduation from the institute at
Thornti.wn, he took up the study of law in the city of Indianapolis and was
admitted to the bar in due time, and for several years thereafter practiced
his profession in Boone county, achieving marked distinction as an able,
judicious and remarkably successful attorney. In 1873 he formed a partner-
ship with his brother at Lafayette which lasted until his death, his success
in his former field of practice fitting him for the raj^id advancement and
di.stinguislied achievements which characterized his professional career in
this city, a career covering ;i jiericd of thirty-four years, during which time
he 'rose to a conspicuous place among the leading members of the local bar.
besides becoming widely and favorably known in the legal circles of various
otlier counties. He married Lottie White, of Lafayette, who bore him lour
children, Arthur G., a civil engineer; .\lberta, a young lady living with her
widowed mother; Lillian and Dorothv, twins, ]nirsuing their studies in the
high school.
732 PAST AND PRESENT
-Albert Caldwell always stood high in his profession and, as already
indicated, met with gratifying success. For a number of years his name ap-
peared in connection with much important litigation, in addition to which he
built up a large and lucrative office business, being esteemed an honorable
and judicious as well as a learned and able lawyer, faithful to the interests
of his clients and above the suspicion of reproach as a counselor. He con-
tinued in the active practice until his untimely death, December 4, 1907, im-
mediately after A\hich, at a meeting of the Tippecanoe county bar. the follow-
ing appropriate resolutions relative to his life and professional standing were
read and adopted :
"As the autumn of the year has passed from us touched by the icy hand
of winter, so in the rich autumn of his life, touched by the inevitable finger
of death, there has passed from us one whose name we bring to this meeting
with a feeling akin to consecration, that we may set it in an appropriate frame-
work of our own choosing, with fit expressions of truthful tribute. Albert
A\'ashington Caldwell is no more. The visible earth-form by which we have
been wont to recognize his presence with us has passed away, his invisible
spirit life, from which we felt the depths of his moral worth, has passed on-
ward— the one in obedience to the law of its own mortality, the other by the
mystic decree beyond the conceptions of the human mind, in its transit to
the realms of spiritual existences, of which we can only say : 'There is no
death there.'
"Our brother, whose death occurred on the 4th instant, was born in
Boone county, in this state, on the i8th day of June. 1845. a few miles south
of the town of Thorntown. in a community largely crmposed of Quakers,
whose form of religious life and practice, we may well presume, had much
influence in the moulding of the ruling traits of his character. His paternal
ancestors some generations back emigrated from Pennsylvania to Nicholas
county, Kentucky, from which, about the year 1833, Alexander Caldwell,
the grandfather of our Albert \A'., removed to Boone county, Indiana, and
settled upon entered land in an unbroken forest with his family, of which
was one son, James H. Caldwell, the father of our suliject, and also J. T^.
Caldwell, a younger brother, who were his only children.
"Albert's early life was spent on the farm. He received his education
in the neighboring common schools and at Thorntown Academy, then a
flourishing and successful institution. His preparatory law reading was in
the office of Ray & Ritter at Indianapolis. He was admitted to the bar in
Boone county, where for a time he practiced, but in the year 1873 ''^ removed
to this city, where he and his brother. James L.. formed the law partnership
of Caldwell & Caldwell, which continued to the time of his death.
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 733
"As a business man he was prompt and methodical. As a lawyer he
was assiduous, careful and critical, with a ready apprehension of the points
of adversary or judge. But the diadem, the highest merit of his life, public,
private, social and professional, was his unbending integrity and unfaltering
coubcientiousness. As a special judge on the bench, no suspicion of unjust
partiality ever tainted his rulings; as a trial lawyer, no trickery or foul
practice e\-er lowered his conduct.
"Another characteristic which marked his life was his unassuming and
unostentatious disposition. He despised all shams, double-dealing and moral
veneer; avoided all vulgarity and buffoonery, as he would the fangs of a
cobra. He was an admirer of candor and sincerity, of which he himself
was a genuine exemplar, and when he found one of his own type the affinity
sealed an enduring friendship. He sought membership in none of the popular
fraternities of the day; not because he decried fraternity, but because he
had no time or strength to share in the wayside conventionalisms of men
and because he had no taste for anything bordering on garish and spectacular.
He stood aloof from clubs and coteries, because the attractions of his own
home circle, to which he was devoted, filled all the longings of his heart.
But let it not be thought that he was morose or misanthropic, for the grace
of good cheer and genial fellowship shone out in all his intercourse with
others.
"With this composition in his nature, he could scarcely be otherwise than
a devout and unostentatious religionist. And so he was. His paternal stock
were Presbyterians, but his mother was a Methodist, and with a mother's
Bible, a mother's example and th.e depths of a mother's love, he was earlv
receptive of a faith in the earnestness she had lived. In it he was consistent
and steadfast.
"We have written nothing new. This estimate of the character of
Albert W. Caldwell has already been written in the hearts of all who knew
him. We would only perpetuate the writing, when time has bedimmed its
lines. Conscious of its defects, your committee submits this testimonial for
your consideration and action.
R. P. Davidson,
S. P. Baird,
John D. Gougar,
DeWitt Wilson,
Charles E. Thompson,
Charles H. Henderson,
Committee."
734 P'^ST AND PRESENT
James Lindsev Caldwell has been an honored member of the Lafayette
h-'r since the vear 1873. After finishing his literary education in Stockwell
Ccllegiate Institute, he entered the same office in Indianapolis where his
brother had previously studied, and after spending a year there returned to
Lafayette, where, during the two following years, he continued his studies
and researches in the office of G. O. & A. O. Behm. a well-known law firm of
the citv. L'nder the direction of these able lawyers, the young aspirant for
professional honors made commendable progress, and at the expiration of the
period indicated was duly admitted to the bar and began the practice in
partnership with his brother, as noted in a preceding paragraph. In due time
his ability won recognition, and. backed by the prestige of his partner, his
advancement from the beginning was steady and continuous. After a short
time in the general practice he was elected prosecutor of the criminal court
of Lafayette, which position he held until the office was abolished, and later.
in 1876. he was further honored by being elected prosecutor of the twenty-
third circuit, yiv. Caldwell proved an able prosecutor, and during his in-
cumbency was untiring in his efforts to enforce the law and bring offenders
to justice. Retiring from the office with an honorable record at the expiration
of his term, he re-entered the practice of law with his brother, the firm thus
constituted building up a large and lucrative business. Since the death of
the senior partner of the firm, in 1907, the subject has conducted the busi-
ness alone, and now has an extensive clientele which includes many of the
best men of Lafayette and Tippecanoe county. During the period of his
practice in Tippecanoe county, Mr. Caldwell has ever had the respect and
esteem of his brother members of the bar and of the community at large.
Kate Baker, to whom ]\Ir. Caldwell was married on the 21st of Feb-
ruary, 1884. is a daughter of Doctor ^Moses and Elizabeth (Skinner) Baker,
the father for many years a prorninent physician and surgeon, and in his day
one of the most distinguished men of his profession (see sketch in following
paragraph). William Skinner, father of Mrs. Baker, was one of the pioneer
settlers of Tippecanoe county, and in an early day served as sheriff, being
one of the first men to fill that office. Mrs._ Caldwell was educated at Stock-
well Collegiate Institute and Purdue University and is a lady of fine mind,
rare intellectual endowments and beautiful character. She has borne her
husband one child, a daughter, Mary Louise, who received her preliminary
mental discipline in the schools of Lafayette and then entered Dana Hall,
Massachusetts, an institution for the higher education of young women, from
which she was graduated in due time.
In his political associations. Mr. Caldwell is a stalwart Republican, and
for a number of vears has been active and influential in party affairs. He
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 735
was elected niavdr ut Lafayette in 1885 and served one term to the satis-
faction of the pubhc, proving an able and popular executive whu during his
incumbency made every otlier cnnsidcraticii subordinate tn the interests of
the municipality. In recognition of important political services he was ap-
pointed in 1897 postmaster of Lafayette and held the office fmm October of
that vear to March 1. jyo6, during which time the rural free delivery system
was established throughout the county and many other improvements for the
expeditious handling of the mails introduced. In the various public positions
to which he has been called, Mr. Caldwell acquitted himself creditably, dis-
charged his duty with conscientious fidelity, and his record as an official as well
as a citizen is eminently honorable and above the suspicion of reproach. In
matters religious he is a faithful and consistent member of the Alethodist
Episcop-l chrrch, with whicli h-dy h.i5 wife and daughter are al.^o identified.
■He is a Knight Templar Mason and a member of the Sons of the American
Re\'olution, his daughter being enrolled among the Daughters of tlie American
Re\olution.
Dr. Moses Baker, father of Mrs. James L. Caldwell, was born at Cin-
cinnati, Ohio, January 29, 1823, came with his parents to Stockwell, Indiana,
when a child of eight years, and spent the remainder of his long and useful
life as a practitioner of medicine and surgery within its boundaries. His
education was obtained in the pul)lic schools of the time and. being a zealous
student, he progressed rapidly. After choosing the medical profession as his
life work he entered the medical college at LaPorte, Indiana, from which
he was graduated in 1848, and in 1852 he completed the prescribed course in
medicine and surgery at Jefiferson Medical College, Philadelphia. Doctor
Baker was a skilled surgeon as well as physician and performed many critical
operations, notable among which was one known to the profession as a case
of Caesarian section, which went down in medical annals as most historic.
It would hardly be appropriate in a work of this character to enter into minute
details in explanation of this wonderful achievement in surgery; suffice it to
say that the operation was undertaken and successfully performed by Doctor
Baker, who assumed the entire responsibility though many other physicians
were present. This miracle in surgical science was successfully performed,
and both the mother and child survived for many years afterward, the latter
a robust man living today. This operation was performed on the 3d of
November, 1880, upon Mrs. Emma Lucas, wife of Luther Lucas, of Wild
Cat Prairie, near Stockwell, in this county. Dr. Moses Baker died at his
home in Stockwell, Tippecanoe county, Indiana, August 16, 1888, and was
mourned as a benefactor to his race.
736 PAST AND PRESENT
SA^IUEL BORN.
In an examination of the life record of the late Samnel Born, it will
be found that he was the possessor of attributes that rendered him popular
with all classes of citizens in Tippecanoe county, where the latter part of
his useful and influential life was spent, and it is safe to say that no man in
recent vears left a more iiulelijjle imprint of his sterling personality upon
those who associated with him here. He was born October 21. 1830, in
Rhein-Hessen, Germany, his parents being Samuel and Sarah (Wolf) Born;
they likewise were natives of Germany, and for many years the father was
engaged in agricultural pursuits and in general merchandising in the town
of Woerrstadt. He was a man of high standing in his community and one
and all accorded him the sincere esteem which he justly deserved. His
death occurred in 1882, wdien he had attained the ripe age of eighty-five
years ; his devoted wife, who sun-ived him but three years, was then in her
eighty-seventh year. The paternal grandfather of the subject was Closes
Born, whose entire life was spent in the Fatherland. He was a dealer in
general merchandise and cattle and for some time managed a farm. His
family comprised two sons and two daughters. Isaac Wolf, the maternal
grandfather of the subject, was born and spent his entire life in Germany.
He reared six daughters and two sons to lives of usefulness, and passed to
his reward admired and respected by all who knew him.
Samuel Born, of this sketch, received a collegiate education in his
native land and was of great assistance to his father in hisi various busi-
ness enterprises. Ha\-ing mastered the essential points of the successful busi-
ness man, the subject concluded to try his fortunes in the United States,
and, in 1854, he landed in New York city: thence he went to Philadelphia
where he had friends, and a year later he came on west to Indiana. Settling
in Waynetown, he kept a general store, dealt in grain and wool and packed
pork and beef quite extensively. He worked very assiduously at whatever
line of business he embarked upon, and the result was abundant success. In
1866 he visited his relatives in Europe, and during the year which he passed
in the land of his nativity he made the acquaintance of the lady who be-
came his wife. Accompanied by his bride, he returned to the United States
in 1867, and in the following year he settled permanently in Lafayette. At
that time he embarked in the grain business here and continued to manage
the same until 1895, when he organized the Samuel Born Company, of which
he was the president, his son Isa,ac secretary and treasurer, and his sons.
,<^^^^ ^-L /^^r>^1^
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. "Jl"]
]M;\x, Edward ami Alfred, were stockholders. The company exported grain
and bnilt up a very extensive and lucrativq trade. They had two ware-
houses and elevators in Lafayette and others at South Raub, Battle Ground,
Crane, Stockwell, Colfax and Dayton, and employment was afforded to about
seventy-five persons. In 1902 the grain business was disposed of and the
present coal and ice business was established. It has grown to extensive
proportions, both in coal and ice, a large, well-equipped and ably-managed
plant being maintained in the manufacture of the latter.
The death of Samuel Born occurred on September 9, 1905, and the
business has since been continued under the name Samuel Born Company,
comprising Edward Born and his mother.
On December 2, 1867, Samuel Born married Therese, daughter of ]\Iax
and Minnie Julia (Wolf) Gottscho, and six children were born to this
union, namely: Max, Isaac, Edward, Alfred, Jessie and Bertha; the last
named was the youngest and she died when three years of age. Max mar-
ried Caroline Dryfus, who is the mother of a daughter named Marion S.
Isaac married Bertha Weil and they have two children, Theresa and Ferdi-
nand. Alfred, the youngest son of Samuel Born and wife, died at the age
of twenty-three. The home of the senior Born was built by him in 1868 at
No. 516 North Sixth street. He and his wife belonged to the Reformed
Hebrew congregation and he was one of the trustees of the synagogue.
Politically he was a stanch Republican, and fraternally he belonged to the
B'nai B'rith (the Sons of the Covenant), and he was a Mason of the Royal
Arch degree.
In disposition Mr. Born was kindly, genial and generous, in addition
to possessing the other qualities which wrought out for him the prosperity
and prominence which he enjoyed. His example w'as one well worthy to be
emulated by the younger generation ; but none of his fellow citizens regarded
him in an envious manner, for he justly earned the affluence that was his
portion. A due regard for the rights of others and a genuine desire to be
of service to those whom fortune had frowned upon were the secrets of his
popularity among his associates.
CHARLES MURDOCK.
Tippecanoe county is indebted, perhaps, more to the IMurdnck familv
than to anv other for its wondrous transformation to one of the choicest
(47)
738 PAST AND PRESENT
sections of the Hoosier state, for members of this family have been leaders
in industrial and civic afifairs since the early days. Each, with a tidelity to
duty and a persistency of i^urpose peculiar to that class of men who take
the lead in large affairs, has performed well his duty in all the relations of
life, and while advancing their own interests have not been unmindful of
the general welfare of their fellow citizens. Thus they rightly deserve an
honored place in the history of this locality.
Charles ]Murdock, to a brief review of whose interesting career the
reader's attention is directed in the following paragraphs and whose name
needs no introduction to the people of northern Indiana, was born in 1805
in the city of Lafayette, the son of ^Ir. and Airs. James Alurdock, the
former a leading man of affairs in this part of the state for many decades,
a complete sketch of whom is to be found on another page of this work.
Charles Murdock's early life was spent much like that of other youths
of his station in life, principally in preparing himself for a business career
by the proper schooling and other early training. He was placed in St.
Mary's parochial school, where he made a very commendable record and laid
a broad and deep foundation for an education which in later years has been
supplemented by general reading and by association in the business world.
In 1879 he went with his parents to [Michigan City, Indiana, where he re-
sided while his father was warden of the penitentiary. He was ncit satistied
with his preliminary schooling and consecpientLy took a course in Xotre Dame
University, from which he was graduated in 1885.
The domestic chapter in the life of ilr. Alurdock dates from September
26. 1894, when he was united in marriage with Mary G. Lillis, a lady of
culture and refinement, and the representative of a prominent family of Kan-
sas City, Missouri. This union has been Ijlessed In- the birth of two chil-
dren, Charles L. and Alary L.
^^'hen the Merchants National Bank of Lafayette was organized, Charles
Alurdock became its cashier, which position he very ably filled u[) to the time
of his father's death, in Xovemlier. 1908, when he became president of the
institution, which is one of the soundest and most extensively patronized
hanks in this part of the st-'te, and he is at this writing conducting its affairs
in a manner th;it stamps him as the possessor if Ijusiness acumen and executive
ability of a high order. He and his brother Samuel were always closely
associated with their father in all his large and numerous business connections,
and the careful and thorough training given them by that wizard of finance
and captain of industry has placed them in the front rank of men who con-
trol large affairs.
TIPPECANOE COUNTY^ IND. 739
Cliarles INlurdock is vice-president of the Chicago, South Bend & Xorth-
ern Indiana Railway Company; also vice-president of the Ft. \\'ayne &
Wabash Valley Traction Company. Me is tre?.surer of the Evansville ^:
Southern Indiana Traction Company, and he is also vice-president or thi
Lafayette Loan & Trust Company, besides being interested in many other
large affairs, to all of which he gives his time and energy in sucli a manner
as to bring about the largest success.
Mr. iVIurdock is a member of the Catholic church, a liberal supporter of
the same, and is interested in charities or whatever tends to the general good
and tlie higher life, being broad in his sympathies and courteous in his de-
meanor— in short, those who know him liest declare him to be a worthy son
WILLIAM OTIS WEAA'ER.
The subject of this sketch, who is proprietor of the Weaver Granite
Works, was born in ]\lontpclier, Williams county, Ohio. November 17, i860,
the son of William and Lo\ina ( Steel ) \\"eaver. both natives of Lancaster,
I-^ennsylvania. The father, whose birth occurred on the 25th day of June.
1822, is by occupation a farmer, and the mother, who was born April 15. 1826,
is descended from a long line of agriculturists who figured in the history 'of
Lancaster county from a very remote period. William and Lmina Weaver
have spent their married life in Williams county, Ohio, where he still re-
sides, and where were born their ten children, with whom they constitute a
family circle into which as yet the Angel of Death has made no invasion witli
the exception of the mother. The descendants of this veneralile couple, in
addition to their five sons and five daughters, consists of forty-five grand-
c'-"'l''rcn. fiftv <Tre''t-!?Ta'idchil(l'-cr .nnd ore greit-,<?;'-c-'t-9Tapdchild. a fotnl
of one hundred and six. a number seldom equaled in these late days when
families are not so large.
\\'illiam O. Weaver was educated in the public schools and the Xorthern
Indiana Normal University at A'alparaiso. and began life in the mercantile
business at Bryan. Ohio, 'vhere he sold dry goods for a periocl of four years.
He was next engaged with a monument firm at Corning. New York, and
after five years there as a salesman embarked in the same line of business for
himself at ^fontpelier, Ohio, where he built up a lucrative trade and in due
time became the leading dealer of the kind in the city, .\fter about twelve
years at Montpelier he sold out, and in 1902 came to Lafavette, Indiana, and
again engaged in the granite and marble business, going into partnership
740 PAST AND PRESENT
with William \\". Darby, whose interest he purchased two years later, since
which time he has been sole proprietor of one of the largest and best equipped
establishments of the kind in northern Indiana. His place of business is on
the corner of Eighth and I\Iain streets, where he carries a full line of monu-
ments, both marble and granite, and is prepared to do all kinds of work in his
line with neatness and dispatch.
Mr. Weaver does all his lettering and fine carving with pneumatic tools,
operated by power, and to him belongs the credit of introducing this new
and highly improved system of work in Lafayette, where it has gradually
superseded the old hand process. He is also the only man in Tippecanoe
countv who builds mausoleums, his achievements in this line as well as in the
general monument trade giving him a wide reputation and bringing to. him
a steadily growing patronage not only in his own city and county, but in
many parts of Indiana and neighboring states. He is a skillful artist and,
being familiar with every detail of the business in which engaged, his suc-
cess has been commensurate with his energy and judicious management, and
he today ranks among the enterprising men and public-spirited citizens of
the city which he has chosen for his permanent place of abode.
On November 13, 1884, Mr. Weaver was united in the bonds of wed-
lock with Clara E. Kelso, of Walla Walla, Washington, daughter of John
and ^lartha Kelso, the father a successful fruit grower of that state and a
leading and well known citizen of the beautiful valley in which he lives.
Mrs. Wea\-er liore her husband three children and departed this life
March 4, 1892, and on November 10, 1897, the subject contracted a marriage
with Anna M. Neff, the union being blessed with two offspring.
Paul Kelso Weaver, the subject's oldest child by his first wife, was born
December 18, 1886, received his education in the public schools of Lafayette
and Purdue University, standing among the first of his class in the electrical
course. He is now connected with the signal service of the Pennsylvania
Railroad Company with headquarters at Pittsburg, Pennsylvania.
Steel M.. the second of the family, was bom October 12, 1888. grad-
uated from the high school of Walla Walla. \\'ashingtnn. in 1907. and foi
some time past has be°n in Phoenix, Arizona, on account of his health.
Carlton H., whose birth occurred on March 8. 1891, was educated in
the schools of Lafayette and is now learning the drug business with the Hogan
Drug Company of this city. The children born of Mr. Weaver's second
marriage are Helen and Catherine, aged six and four years respectively, both
bright and interesting and adding much to the happiness of the home circle.
On state and national issues Mr. Weaver is a Republican, but in matters
local he is liberal, voting for the candidates best qualified for the oftices to
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 741
which they aspire, regardless of party ties. He is a Methodist in his rehgious
faith, and with his family belongs to the Trinity Methodist Episcopal church,
Lafayette, to the support of which he is a liberal contributor. A man of strong
individuality and well endowed mentality, Mr. Weaver enjoys to a marked
degree the esteem and confidence of the people of his city and as a citizen is
in touch with all enterprises and movements having for their object the
advancement of the comnuniity and the welfare of his fellowmen. Affable
in manner, kind in word and deed, he has made many warm friends since
coming to Lafayette and his popularity is bounded only by the limits of his
acquaintance.
JEREML\H PHILIP KOOXSE. M. D.
The subject of this sketch hailed from the state concerning which Chaun-
cey Depew in one of his after-dinner speeches paraphrased Shakespeare as
follows : "Some men are born great, some achieve greatness, and some come
from Ohio." He was born April 24, 1837, in the old city of Wells ville. which
for a number of years previous had been the home of his parents, Mr. and
Mrs. Philip Koonse, natives of Pennsylvania, being one of a family of five
children. After laying the foundation of his intellectual training in the schools
of his native town, young Koonse pursued his studies in other institutions of
a higher grade and after reaching the years of manhood added still further
to his scholastic knowledge by attending from time to time various colleges
in his own and other states. With this excellent preparation, he engaged in
educational work, teaching for some time in the schools of Wellsville, Ohio,
and as principal of the high school in St. Louis, Missouri, later moving to
Williamsport, Indiana, where he was afterward elected superintendent of the
public schools of Warren county. The Doctor earned an enviable record as
a teacher, but, not caring to devote his life to the work, he selected medicine
as the profession best suited to his taste and inclination. Beginning his pro-
fessional studies in Philadelphia, he was in due time graduated from a well-
known medical college of that city, after which he located at Lafayette and
snon built up a lucrative practice and acquired an honorable standing among
the leading physicians of this part of the state.
After devoting some time to the general practice Doctor Koonse turned
his attention to several special lines of treatment, in connection with which he
also made a critical study of drugs and their effects upon the human system,
his researches enabling him to discover specifics and remedies for certain
742 PAST AND PRESENT
chronic diseases and ruinous practices, n(;itably the morphine haJjit. in tlie treat-
ment of which he met with remarkable success. Doctor Koonse was always
a student and his various discoveries resulted in untold good to suffering
humanity. Indeed he was properly called a benefactor of his race, in view of
the fact that hundreds of hopelessly afflicted mortals through the effect of his
remedies were redeemed from body-polluting and soul-degrading habits and
restored to their normal strength and vigor. He died April 17, 1906, and in
his death the entire community suffered a distinct loss.
Virginia Fillinger, wife of Doctor Koonse, was born June i, 1845, near
Richmond, Virginia, being the third of eight children in the family of Henry
and Nancy Fillinger, of whom two of her brothers and two sisters are still
living. The marriage of Doctor and Mrs. Koonse, which was solemnized at
Bowling Green, Indiana, on the 2d day of August, 1863, was blessed with
three offspring, Emma, the oldest, whose birth occurred July 27, 1870, dying
when two years of age. Harry E. Koonse, the second of the family, who was
born June 12, 1872, received his educntion in Lafayette, and is now one of
the citv's most efficient decorators. Alice \"., the youngest of the Doctor's
children, now the wife of Dr. Edgar E. Ouivey, a dentist of Fort Wayne,
was born on the 7th day of August, 1874.
Mrs. Koonse is a lady of wide intelligence, varied culture and strong
character and nobly assisted her husband in all of his endeavors, and much
of his success was due to her judicious counsel and advice. She is a reader
and observer, keeps in touch with the trend of events, is deeply interested
in all lines of educational work, and the various charitable and humanitarian
enterprises and projects of the city find in her a w-arm sympathizer and
able and liberal helper. She retains to a marked degree her bodily and mental
faculties, possesses a verv retenti\'e memory and. although past her sixty-fifth
year, her sense of sight is such that she has never resortetl to the use of
glasses. Doctor Koonse was a memlier of the Methodist Episcopal church,
of Lafayette, and the deep interest he manifested in all good work, ga\-e him
a strong and wholesome influence in religious circles. Mrs. Koonse is an
earnest worker of the same church. Socially she is esteemed and her home.
at Xo. 1 1 14 North Twelfth street, is a favorite resort of many of the best
people of the city.
REV. GEORGE MICHAEL SCHUMM.
Forty-three years, or largely over a generation, is a long time to devote
to anv one calling. Init this measures the period of the ministry of the popular
nastor of St. James German Lutheran church of Lafayette. It has been a
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 743
hard-working career, tilled with the usual disappdintnients that mark all hu-
man effort, but there is much along the way to show that the labors of this
good man have not been in vain. His work at Lafayette alone, if there were
nothing else to his credit, would be enough to stamp ^Nlr. Schumm as a
fruitful worker in his Master's vineyard. The family is of German origin.
George Scliumm, the elder, emigrated from Wurttemberg, Germany, at a
period so early as to rank with the pioneers of Ohio, his settlement in \'an
Wert county occurring as far back as 1838. He owned over three hundred
acres of land at one time and was one of the influential citizens in his section
of the Buckeye state. He married Mary Pflueger, by whom he had thirteen
children, the survivors being as follow's : Frederick, a farmer of Mercer
county, Ohio; Louis, a lumberman of Laporte, Lidiana; Henry, occupant of
the old home farm, and Martin, a resident of Xew York city. George j\L
Schumm. the other child belonging to the list of survivors, was born in
\'an Wert county, Ohio, December 20, 1841. He was reared on the farm
and learned hi.w to handle the hoe, swing the sc_\the, use the ax with skill and
do all the other things expected of a farmer's boy. The education proved
useful in many ways, chiefly by strengthening his constitution and teaching
him how to do useful things. He got a good academical education in the
parochial school of his religious denomination and after his confirmation in
1856 entered the German Lutheran College at Ft. Wa)ne. Three years were
spent in this institution, followed by a four-year course at Concordia Univer-
sity in St. Louis. His graduation from this institution in 1865 was almost
coincident with h.is entrance into the ministry, as he began pastoral work in
the same )ear, which has continued up to the present.
In 1807 Mr. Schumm married Amelia iNlarkworth. of Perry county,
Missouri, by whom he had three children, Martha, Adolph, foreman of the
testing department of an electrical establishment, and Emma, wife of Paul
Wangerin, of Lafayette. Mrs. Schumm having died in 1872. ]\Ir. Schumm
was married in 1874 to Charlotte Breuninger, by whom the children are as
follows : Otto Schumm, a minister at Brownstown, Indiana ; Anton, a teacher
in the schools of Cleveland, Ohio ; George, a teacher in the Pittsburg schools ;
Bertha, at home ; Paul, a student of theology in St. Louis. The mother died
in 1905. Mr. Schumm took charge of St. James Lutheran church of Lafay-
ette. ^L^y 15, 1889, and great growth has marked the intervening period. At
the date mentioned there w^ere eighty voting members and three hundred
communicants, which have been increased to one hundred and fifty-three vot-
ing members and five hundred and ninety communicants. Bv virtue of his
oflice as pastor, Mr. Schuium is superintendent of the parochial schools con-
744 PAST AND PRESENT
ducted by his denomination, which estabUshments have on an average one
hundred and twenty-five pupils, under two teachers.- The church itself has
various auxiliary organizations, including the Ladies' Society, the Young
People's Society and the Young Ladies" Society. In every way the church
work has ad\-anced under Mr. Schumm and St. James enjoys high standing.
HON. AMOS WELCH.
The family of this name are descended from a line of North Carolina
Quakers, who refused to bow the knee to Baal, in the shape of hmnan slavery,
got into hot water as a result and eventually had to emigrate North to escajie
the persecutions of Southern fire-eaters. They were a sturdy race, always
on the right side of all moral questions, firm in their convictions and true
to their principles. John \Yelch, one of the old timers in North Carolina,
was born in the eighteenth century in Wales, but went South with other
members of the society of Friends, who sought a residence in the Old North
state, before the slavery question became acute. Turner Welch, a son of
John, was born in Guilford county. North Carolina, February i6, 1790, and
after he grew up studied and practiced medicine in his native community.
At the breaking out of the Indian war in Florida he served as a surgeon in
the army and afterwards migrated to Warren county, Ohio, where he re-
sumed the practice of his profession. August 23, 1819, he married Esther,
daughter of Jonathan Fallis, a native of England, who came to the United
States during the last half of the eighteenth century. He settled first in
Virginia, but later came to Ohio, where he built the first mill ever erected in
Wayne county. In the spring of 1836, Doctor Welch brought his wife and
five children to Tippecanoe county and settled at West Point. He pur-
chased a lot of Wayne township land, and for two years did some farming
while keeping up his professional duties. His wife became so dissatisfied
with the isolated and discouraging conditions that the Doctor yielded to her
entreaties to return to the old Ohio home, where he resumed medical practice
and gradually built up a large business. In 1846, the outlook in Tippecanoe
county having somewhat improved, he came back to West Point and con-
tinued the practice of medicine until his death, in 1875. His wife sui^dved
him two years, passing away in 1877 at what the obituary writers! would
designate as a "ripe old age," being in her eighty-sixth year. This ex-
cellent pioneer couple are still remembered for their sterling qualities, and
AMOS WELCH
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 745
high moral character. Tliey were active members of the society of l*"riends,
devoted to practical charity and all good works, with the result that they
enjoyed not onh' the respect but affection of all who knew them.
Amos Welch, youngest of the eight children of his parents, was born
in \\'ayne township, Tippecanoe county, Indiana, April i6, 1838. He was
eight years old when his father returned to West Point for permanent resi-
dence, and he grew up on the farm with all the experiences of pioneer
boys. He enjoyed but limited opportunities of going to school, all his edu-
cation being obtained by daily intercourse with his fellowmen, with an oc-
casional visit to farmers' institutes and other such gatherings. He remained
with his parents during their old age, caring for their health and looking
after their comfort until the time of their respective deaths. [March 20. 1877,
he married Mary, daughter of John Sherry, one of the first settlers of Tippe-
canoe county. Born in Bourbon county, Iventucky, in 1799, a son of Hugh
Sherry, a native of Pennsylvania, he was taken in childhood to Ohio, where
his parents found a home in Ross county during the remainder of their
lives. John Sherry came to Tippecanoe county in 1828, entered a consider-
able tract of land and was engaged in farming during the rest of his days.
He also owned and conducted a saw and grist-mill, being one of the first
millers of the county, and in the performance of his double occupations he
spent an industrious life, until called away by death in April, 1857. Two
children were born to this union, both deceased. Mr. Welch owns one of
the best farms in the township and has the reputation of being one of the
best farmers. He has been prominent in politics as a local Republican leader
and consulted as a safe; advisor in all party movements. He served one
term in the state legislature in 1895 and gave entire satisfaction to his con-
stituents by his sensible way of attending to business. He is a man of
honesty and integrity, a worthy descendant of his good Quaker parents, and
no man stands higher in the community as a neighbor and citizen.
ALBERT EUGENE SHEARMAN.
This well known and highly respected resident of Lafayette has been
honored with distinctive preferment in various lines of activity and as a
citizen ranks among those whose value and worth to the comniunitv cannot
be lightly estimated. For many years identified with the material interests
and advancement of his adopted city, he has filled with marked abilitv posi-
746 PAST AND PRESENT
tior.s of l:or.oi" and trust r.r.d as a representative > f an important brancli of thi
government service still occupies a prominent place in the public view as well
as in the esteem and contidence of the people with whom he is brought into
contact.
Albert E. Shearman is a nati\e of Oneida county, Xew York, and belongs
to one of the old and widely known families of that part of the Empire state,
another representative of the same family being the Hon. James Schoolcraft
Sherman, a statesman of distinguished ability and, since Alarch, 1909, the
honored A'ice-President of the United States, who is a nephew of the subject.
W'illett H. Shearman, father of the subject, was born Januarv 31. 1792.
at South Kingston, Rhode Island, and by occupation was a farmer and manu-
facturer. By his first wife, Catharine Ann Schoolcraft, a native of Xew York
state and a daughter of Col. Lawrence Schoolcraft, a soldier of the Revolu-
tion, he had eight children, and his second marriage, which was solemnized
with Emily Church, of Oneida county, resulted in a like number of children,
his family of si.xteen children consisting of seven daughters and nine sons.
of whom the following survive: Helen M. Shearman, of Allendale. Xew
Jersey, who has reached the age of eighty-two years ; ^lesdames Josephine
Foote and Angeline Sullivan, twins, who haxe passed the seventieth milestone
on life's journey; Eben R. Shearman, aged sixty-five, who, with the two sisters
mentioned, lives in Elgin, Illinois, he being connected with the watch factory
in that city; Albert E., who is next to the youngest, the youngest survivor of
the large circle that formerly gathered around the parental hearthstone.
Willett H. Shearman died in 1868, at the age of nearly seventy-seven years,
and his wife, Emily, mother of the suljject, was called to her final rest in the
same year, her age at the time of her tlemise being about sixty-two years.
Albert E. Shearman was born in the town of A'ernon, Xew York. July
16, 1842, and spent his early life in his native county, devoting the years of
his boyhood and youth to the practical duties of the farm and attending the
public schools at intervals in the meantime. His educational privileges in-
cluded the usual studies of the schools of Vernon and an academic course at
the same place, and at the age of eighteen he began teaching, which he fol-
lowed until his twentieth year, when he exchanged the school room for the
more active and strenuous duties of army life. His military experience began
in August. 1862, with his enlistment from Rome, X'^ew York, in Company A.
One Hundred and Seventeenth Regiment Xew York A'olunteer Infantry,
under Capt. George W. Brigham, who was subsequently killed at the battle
of Drury's Blufif, the commander of the regiment being Col. William R.
Pease, formerly a captain in the United States regular army and an ofiicer of
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 747
great bravery and daring. Air. Shearman was with his regiment in some of
the most noted campaigns in the siege of Fort Sumter along the Potomac,
and in the vicinity of Richmond, and shared with his comrades the horror
of battle on a number of bloody fields, including the engagement of Chapin."s
Farm, and the almost continuous fighting which took place ere the final sur-
render of the Confederate forces and the collapse of the rebellion at Appomat-
tox. In August, 1864, while in front of Petersburg, ^iv. Shearman was
severely wounded in the left leg by the fragment of a shell and on another
occasion he received a painful though not serious injury by being struck in
the side by a musket or rifle ball, and on the 29th of September, 1864, while
in front of the Confederate capital, he had the misfortune of falling into the
liands of the enemy and for some time thereafter was incarcerated in Libby
prison, being sent from there to Belle Isle, and later to Salisbury, North
Carolina, spending about six months in these prisons ere his exchange was
effected.
Mr. Shearman was mustered out of the service at Albany. New York,
in June, 1865, and, returning home in a weakened condition resulting from
his prison experience and injuries, he suffered greatly during the several
months ensuing, — indeed his recovery was despaired of by his relatives and
friends who did everything within their power to minister to his comfort.
In due time, however, thanks to a naturally strong constitution, he regained
his normal vigor and as soon as practicable thereafter entered Eastman's
Commercial College at Poughkeepsie, New York, where he completed the
full course and fitted himself for an active business career, to which his sub-
sequent life has been devoted. Coming to Lafayette, Indiana, in the fall of
1866, he accepted the position of cashier in the Wabash railroad freight office,
and after two years in that capacity entered the employ of the Monon railroad,
with which he continued for a period of eighteen years, three of which were
spent in Chicago as agent, his headquarters the remainder of the time being in
Lafayette.
Severing his connection with the Monon in 1886, Mr. Shearman again
entered the service of the Wabash road, and during the ensuing four years
was an agent on the National Dispatch line of fast freight at Chicago. Re-
signing the position at the expiration of the time indicated, he returned to
Lafayette and became assistant postmaster, under B. ^Vilson Smith, which
place he held four years, and then entered the city treasurer's ofBce. where he
liad an important position during two administrations of four years each, and
was engaged for a third, but in July, 1902, was induced to return to the
postoffice where he has since been assistant postmaster, serving first under
748 PAST AXD PRESENT
James L. Caldwell and. since the expiration of his term, under Thomas W.
Burt, the present incumbent.
Mr. Shearman has been in the employ of the United States postal service
for a period of eleven years, during which time he has become familiar with
every detail of the office and achieved an honorable reputation as an exceed-
ingly capable and judicious official, enjoying to a marked degree the confi-
dence of his superior and the esteem of the public. He likewise stood high
in the regard of the raifi-oad companies with which he was so long identified,
filled worthily a number of important trusts while in that branch of service
and his record in the various public positions to which called is above the
suspicion of reproach or dishonor. Aside from his regular duties, he takes
an active interest in military matters and since 1890 has been influential
as a member of John A. Logan Post. No. 3. Grand Army of the Republic, in
which he now holds the title of past commander ; he is also identified with
Encampment No. 122. Union \'eteran Legion, being a past colonel, and
Tippecanoe Lodge. No. 55, Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
]Mr. Shearman, on the 6th of January, 1875, was united in the bonds of
wedlock with Flora McKee Linn, daughter of Austin P. and Olive (DeVault)
Linn, the father a Kentuckian by birth, and one of the old settlers, coming
here from Crawfordsville in 1827, a well known banker and business man
of Lafavette, who died in 1865. The mother was a native of Ohio, who
came here with her father, Lemuel DeVault, and family, in 1835. Mrs. Linn
died in 1888. They were both of Revolutionary ancestry. Mrs. Shearman is
the only survivor of the two children born to this couple. Mr. and Mrs.
Shearman have no children of their own, but have always been interested in
the welfare of the young people of their city, who hold them in high esteem.
A man of strong individuality and unquestioned probity, Mr. Shearman
has attained a due measure of success in the affairs of life, and the various
positions w^ith which he has been honored from time to time bear witness of
its ability, close application and mature judgment displayed in all of his
undertakings. A gentleman of quiet demeanor, more meditative and thought-
ful than given to much speech, he is nevertheless affable and cheerful in social
circles and, while not especially seeking friendships, he possesses the faculty
of drawing friends about him and binding them to him as with bands of steel.
His influence has ever been exercised in behalf of right and his career proves
that the only true success in this life is that which is accomplished by personal
effort and consecutive industry. The record of such a man cannot fail to be
an inspiration to the young of this and future generations and it is with much
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 749
satisfaction that the foregoing brief epitome of his career and tribute to his
worth as a man and citizen are accorded a place in this voUime.
The home of Mr. and ]\Irs. Shearman is at No. 665 Main street, where
Mrs. Shearman was born.
JOHN ALLEN HILL.
John A. Hill, dealer in wall paper and one of the leading business men
cf Lafayette, was born nine miles northwest of the city, in Tippecanoe county,
May II, 1865. His father, Aaron S. Hill, a native of Hamilton county, Ohio,
came to this part of Indiana as early as 1841 and later w-as engaged in the
railroad service for a number of years with the Wabash and Monon lines.
He married in this county Martha F. Jennings, a daughter of Able C. Jen-
nings, a prosperous farmer and representative citizen, and in due time became
the father of four children, namely: \\'illiam F., a business man of Lafay-
ette; Carrie M., who is single and her father's housekeeper; Charles, deceased,
and John A., the subject of this sketch. The mother of these children is
deceased and for a number of years the father has been living a retired life,
being the possessor of a sufficiency of th.is world's goods to place him in
independent circumstances.
On moving to Lafayette in 1864, Aaron S. Hill accepted the position of
engineer with the old Potter, Daggert & Martin woolen mills. Later he entered
the service of the Sample pork house in the same capacity and, as previously
stated, devoted a number of years to railroading. He was a soldier during
the last six months of the Civil war in Company C, One Hundred and Fiftieth
Regiment Indiana Volunteer Infantry, but by reason o"f ill health was obliged
to spend three months in the hospital, consequently saw but little active service
in the field.
When John A. Hill was a year old, his parents mo\-ed to Lafavette and
his early life differed in no important respect from that of the majority of
city lads. He attended the public schools about the usual time and at the age
of thirteen acquired his first knowledge of business afifairs as clerk in a
grocery store. .After a year or two in that capacity, he entered the emplnv of
a stave manufacturer, in whose factory he labored until his eighteenth vear.
when he engaged in the wall paper business with William \'. Stnv. whose
plnce nil the iirrth side of the public square was the largest and most importnnt
establishment of the kind in the citv.
750 PAST AND PRESENT
January i, 1900, Mr. Hill started in the same line of trade tor himself
on the corner of Tenth and Main streets and during the nine years that he
has been at the head of the Cbtablislimeat his business has grown rapidly in
volume until he is now recognized as the leading wall paper dealer and deco-
rator in Lafayette. By strict attention to the demands of the trade and always
doing high grade work, his patronage has taken a very wide range including
not only the leading people of his own city but a large and growing business
in a number <:if other towns. This stead)- increase has rendered necessary
the enlargement of his facilities from time ti) time and additions to his force
of workmen and clerks, six of whom are now required to look after the
interests of the trade and do the large amcnmt of decorating which he makes
a specialty.
Mr. Hill is a man of retined tastes and as an artistic decorator has few
equals and no superiors. The high standard of his work is its best recom-
mendation and the chief advertisement of his establishment and the large
number of fine homes in Lafayette and other cities, besides public halls, lodge
rooms, etc.. here and elsewhere, which he has decorated antl beautilied bear
eloquent testimony to his etificiency and skill as a master of his craft.
Mr. Hill is not only an enterprising business man deeply inte'^ested in
the success of the line of trade to which he is devoting his time and attention,
but is also a public-spirited citizen who keeps in touch with the grnwth of
his city and county and encourages all means for the advancement of the
community, socially and morally. He stands for law and order, uses his in-
fluence on the right side of every public issue and has always had the best
interests of his fellowmen at heart. He is an acti\e member of the Independ-
ent Order of Odd Fellriws and all of its branches: also belongs to the .\ncieni
Order of Druids and in politics is an earnest supporter of the Republicm
party, but not a partisan in the sense of seeking office or aspiring to leu'.er-
ship. Religiously, he was reared under the influence of the Christian clun-cb
and still subscribes to the plain, simple teaching of that large and growing
body, being an attendant of the church in T,afayette and interested in tlie wi rk
under its auspices.
On October 19, 1888, ^Ir. Hill and Martha V. Shores, of Xew \»v]<.
daughter of Dr. William F, and ;\Iary Shores, at the time indicated residents
of Tipton county, Indiana, were united in the holy bonds of wedlock; the union
being blessed with two offspring, a daughter who died in infancy .and a son.
Arnold H. Hill, who was born June 18, 1891, and who is now his father's
efficient assistant.
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 75 1
I\Ir. Hill is a gentleman ot pleasing presence, and stands high not only in
the commercial world but in the confidence and esteem of the people of his
city, regardless of class or condition. He has a full, well developed atliletic
figure, a frank, open countenance, which, with his affable manner and the
habit of always looking on the bright side of things, make him an interesting
and welcome accession to the soci.d circles in which he move.--. Energetic,
enterprising and full of business, he has made his intiuence felt in the city
of his residence and stands well to tlie front among its successful men and
representative citizens.
JOSEPH ABDON.
Among the bra\-e sons of ilie Xorth who sacrificed so much during the
dark days Cif the sixties to save the national Union and thereby transmit to
posterity a glorious Repuljlic — the greatest in the history of the earth — v.'as
the late Joseph Aljdon, a man remembered for his genial disposition and
his high sense of honor, \\h< was Imrn in 1843 '" Dearborn county, Indiana.
He received a fairly gond cummdn-'^chnol education for those early days and
assisted with the work about the home place. When he reached maturity he
engaged for the most part in huckstering and as a cooper for a livelihood.
\\'hen the Civil war began he was quick to respond to the call for troops and
enlisted in Company K, One Hundred and Twenty-third Regiment Indiana
Vi;lunteer Infantry, and was made corporal. He performed well his duties
during that great struggle and recei\-ed an honorable discharge.
Mr. Abdiin was married to Airs. Alar)- Jane Kerr and to this union
three chiklren were liorn, one son and two daughters, as follows: George
Abdon. whdse birth occurred August 5. 1866, married Clara \\'eir, and he is
engaged as a mechanic in Fort \\'ayne, Indiana: Eva Abdon, born February i,
1873, is a stenographer and chief clerk at the Sterling Alanufacturing Com-
pany's plant of Lafayette: Anna L. .\bdon, born September 2, 1875, m^n'ied
Charles Bechtold. Xo children were born to them. She was a high school
graduate and her death occurred on September 28, 1896.
Joseph Abdon died October 26, 1893, after an active and useful life.
Mrs. Mary Jane Abdon was first married to Derrick Kerr, wlio was bom
in Dearborn county, Indiana, the wedding occurring Alav 12, 1850. One
son was born of this union, William D. Kerr, whose vear of birth was 1861.
He WPS educated in the city schools, and he learned the iilumber"s trade, which
lie now successfully follows in Lafayette, bis place of business being located
752 PAST AND PRESENT
on Union street. He married Fannie G. W'orkhoff, April 17, 1886, and they
are the parents of two ciiildren; one son, Albert Kerr, born April 11, 1887,
is a graduate of Purdue University in .pharmacy : the other child, Gladys
Kerr, is now (1909) fourteen years old and is making a good record in the
public schools.
Derrick Kerr was also a soldier in the Union army, having enlisted in
defense of the flag early in the war, in Company D, in an Indiana regiment.
His death occurred in Alay, 1862, while he was on his way home from the
front, dying in a St. Louis hospital of the measles.
Airs. Abdon lives in a neat and comfortable home at Xo. 13 14 Green-
bush street, Lafayette. Although she is a woman who has known sorrow and
has done much hard work, she is uncomplaining, optimistic and of comely
personal appearance. She is a member of the Trinity Methodist Episcopal
church, as are also her children, and she receives a pension of twelve dollars
per month. This family stand high among their neighbors, having always
borne reputations exemplary in every respect.
JOHN W. SKINNER.
He to whom this sketch is dedicated is a member of one of the oldest
and most honored pioneer families of Tippecanoe county, and there is par-
ticular interest attached to a study of his life record, owing to the fact he has
forged his way to the front by reason of an innate ability and personal char-
acteristics that seldom fail to win the goal sought.
John W. Skinner, the popular ex-commissioner of Tippecanoe county,
is a native of the same, having been Ixirn in Lauramie township. September
9, 1855, the son of Thomas and Eliza (Conarroe) Skinner, the former a
native of Hamilton county, Indiana, where his birth occurred in 181 1. He
came to Tippecanoe county about 1829 and pla^xd well his part in the sub-
sequent development of the locality, which was then practically a wilder-
ness. He was industrious and thrifty and became a well-to-do farmer for
those days. He came by this naturally, for he grew up on a farm, and also
learned the carpenter's trade. He started with practically nothing, but en-
tered one hundred and twenty acres of land from the government at one
dollar and twenty-five cents per acre. Having prospered, he added to this
until he became the owner of four hundred acres, which he managed in a
manner that stamped him as a man of soundness of judgment and he was
JOHN W. SKINNER
THOMAS SKINNER
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 753
intluential in his community, lieing regarded as a man of strict integrity.
He remained on his farm the rest of his Hfe, dying :\Iay 23, 1892. He was
a Republican in politics. He and his wife were the parents of two children,
John W. Skinner, of this review, and Joseph, who died when ten years of
age.
John W. Skinner was reared on his father's farm, where he assisted with
tlie work about the place and he quite naturally chose farming for his life
wijrk. He received a good practical education in the local common schools
and at Stockwell.
Mr. Skinner was married June 14, 1876, to Flora May \\'arwick, who
was liorn in Tippecanoe county, the daughter of John and Sarah ^^'arwick.
The W'arwicks have long l^een a prominent family here. ]\Irs. Skinner re-
ceived a fairly good education in the common schools and she proved to be
a very faithful and congenial helpmeet to her husband, who owes no little
of his success to her counsel. Their home was blessed by the birth of two
children. Jesse R. and Roy L. ; but a deep gloom was cast over the home in
1(505 by the tragic death of the latter, being a victim of a railroad accident.
The first named son, a young man of marked Inisiness ability, is married
and is making his home with his parents. Airs. John \\'. Skinner was
called to her rest in 1892. and in 1894 Mr. Skinner was married to Martha
Ellis, who was born and reared in Tippecanoe county, the daughter of Mr.
and Mrs. John Ellis, an old and highly respected family. Mrs. Skinner is
a woman of affability and presides over her home with a grace that has won
hosts of warm friends. ]\Ir. Skinner's second marriage has resulted in the
birth of one child. Ward E.. who is twelve years old at this writing and is
a bright and interesting lad.
I\Ir. Skinner is the owner of one thousand acres of as valuable land as
can be found in this favored section of the Hoosier state, and none is bet-
ter improved, for he takes a delight in keeping hisi farm up to twentieth
century standards. He is an admirer of good stock and has always kept some
fine breeds of all kinds, especially cattle and horses. His land is easilv worth
one hundred dollars per acre. Besides this farm, Mr. Skinner owns one-
fifth interest in two thousand five hundred acres of valuable timber land in the
state of Mississippi. He is one of the stockholders in the Farmers and
Traders' Bank at Lafayette, in which he is a director. For the past twelve
years he has not engaged in active farming, but spends his time overseeing
his large interests. He makes his home in Stockwell, where he has one of
the most attractive residences in this localitv, being of beautiful architectural
(48)
754 PAST AND PRESENT
design, modern in every detail, elegantly furnished and surrounded by well-
kept grounds and substantial outbuildings.
In politics Mr. Skinner is a Republican and he has long taken some-
thing of an active interest in local party affairs. He was elected commis-
sioner from the third district and very ably served in that capacity for two
terms, or six years. Fraternally, he is a member of Summit Lodge, Knights
of Pythias.
Personally, Air. Skinner is a man whom it is a delight to meet, court-
eous, unassuming, kind and generous, and while giving his chief attention
to his business, he finds time and opportunity to take an interest in matters
pertaining to the progress and growth of his community, county and state,
keeping abreast of the times in all questions of vital import and being re-
garded by all as a leader in the locality honored by his residence.
FRED REULE.
For a number of years the subject of this sketch has been identified with
the business interests of Lafayette, during which he has made for himself
a place of honor in commercial and social circles, his life being one of signal
positiveness and his integrity above the suspicion of reproach. As his name
indicates, Fred Reule is of Teutonic ancestry and traces his family history
through a long line of antecedents to Germany where his parents, George
Reule and Caroline Wooster, were born and reared. Both came to America
in their youth and located at Lafayette where, in due time, their marriage
occured, the union resulting in the birth of one son, the subject of this re-
view, and two daughters, the older of whom, Caroline, is the widow of the
late Charles W. Warrenburg, of Lafayette, and the mother of two children,
George B. and Clara. A. Mary, the second daughter, is unmarried and lives
with her brother, whose home she manages and to whose interest and comfort
she ministers in various ways. George Reule engaged in the hardware trade at
Lafayette a number of years ago and was long one of the enterprising and
successful business men of the city. Honest and upright in his dealings and
energetic in all of his undertakings, he built up a lucrative patronage and at
the time of his death, in 1891, was a conspicuous figure in the commercial
circles of the city, with an honorable reputation as an intelligent and
progressive citizen. Mrs. Reule. who sur\'ived her husband, departed this life
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 755
in 1909, aged se\-enty-six years, five months and some days, Mr. Reule being
in his fifty-eighth year when called to the unseen world.
Fred Reule, whose birth occurred in Lafayette on the 21st day of Feb-
ruary, i860, was reared in his native city, and after attending the public
schools of the same until acquiring a pretty thorough knowledge of the
branches therein taught, took a two-years course in a commercial college
with the object in view of fitting himself for a business life. Prior to the
completion of his education, he obtained a valuable practical experience under
the direction of his father, whose place of business he entered at the age of
sixteen and with whom he continued until the latter's death, when he entered
into the hardware business upon his own responsibility.
Mr. Reule's business career has been eminently successful and he is now
proprietor of the largest and best known establishment of the kind in the
city. The large and well conducted building, which fronts one hundred and
fifteen feet on Columbia street and forty-four feet on Second street, is four
stories high with a large basement and is admirably adapted to the purposes
for which intended, the different floors being stocked with everything in the
hardware line, in addition to which the proprietor deals extensively in farm
implements and machinery, gas engines of various types, buggies and other
vehicles, harness, binders, twine, cement and building materials, all of which
he buys in carload lots and disposes of both wholesale and retail. The entire
second floor of the mammoth establishment is stocked with the celebrated
Columbus buggies, which are sold in large numbers, and he also handles the
J. I. Case threshers and engines, which he purchases by the carload and for
which there has been a steadily growing demand during the past eight or
ten years. He also carries a full line of fine office furniture, fixtures and
many other articles which the limits of this brief sketch w-ill not admit of
mention, his stock of all kinds being full and complete, so as to supply the
growing demands of the trade and requiring to handle it the services of eight
experienced salesmen, besides an adequate force to look after the various
clerical departments. In the building up and management of this large and
far-reaching enterprise, Mr. Reule deserves great credit and the ease with
w^hich every department is conducted demonstrates business ability of a high
order and a method and foresight as rare as they are admirable.
I\Ir. Reule has never assumed the duties and responsibilities of the mar-
riage relation, nevertheless he maintains a beautiful and attractive home at
No. 1 1 18 North street, where, as already indicated, his sister manages his
household and looks after his domestic afifairs, the place being well known to
the best social circles of the city and a hospitable retreat for the kindred spirits
756 PAST AND PRESENT
who from time to time are accustumed to wliile away many pleasant hours
with tlie kindly host and hostess. In his religious belief the subject is a
Lutheran, to which church his ancestors belonged and in the truths «if which
he was early trained by pious and devoted parents. He is a liberal ccmtributor
to its various lines of work besides being a generous donor to all charitable
and humanitarian enterprises.
In personal appearance, Mr. Reule is tall, well built and of a pleasing"
address, modest in manners, deliberate in conversation and methodical in all
he does and says. He impresses all with whc:m he comes into contact as a
man of intelligence, good judgment and fdrce — in brief, as a typical German-
American citizen of a class to which our country is greatly indebted for its
material progress and social advancement.
REV. -MICHAEL J. BYRXE.
The popular pastor of St. Ann"s has had a varied career in the priesthood
and it is only necessary to examine into his achievements with his numerous
charges to find that his life has been one of usefulness and good works. He
is of Irish origin and possesses all the characteristics of his nationality. His
father. Peter Byrne, came from the historic Emerald Isle as far back as the
earlv thirties and for a time worked as a day laborer in Cincinnati. While
there he met and married Mary Hannagan. an Irish girl, then a resident of
Newport, Kentucky. Shortly afterward they located in Butler county. Ohio.
where Peter bought a small tract of land from the government, to which he
added by subsequent purchases until his holdings amounted to a full section.
Later he removed to Lafayette, where he died in October, 1906. at the ripe
old age of eighty-nine years. His six children consisted of four sons and two
daughters, all of whom are living. Michael J. is at Lafayette; Dennis is
in the waterworks department at Chicago: John is a sergeant of police in the
same citv : Paul, who resides at Anderson. Indiana, is employed with a
Chicago firm: Catherine is a sister of the Order <if Xotre Dame ant! teaches
at St. Xnvier's in Cincinnati; Mary is the wife of a prosperous blacksmith at
Sidney, Ohio.
^lichael J. Byrne, eldest of the family, was born in Butler county. Ohio,
October 18, 1838, and remained on the farm until the completion of his
sixteenth year. By this time he had obtained sufificient education to teach and
after devoting a year to this pursuit he obtained a life license at the age of
seventeen, but nnlv used it for one more vear in school work. .After a rear
TIPPECANOE COUNTV^ IND. 757
ill the commercial course at St. Mary's Institute, in Dayton. Ohio, he olnained
a degree in 1876 and then entered the preparatory seminary at St. Mary's in
Cincinnati. Remaining there until 1S77, he spent the following five years
at the University of Niagara and was graduated in the classical course in 1883
with the degree of blaster of Arts. Tw(_i years in the philosophical course at
Baltimore (iMar}-land) College gained for him the degree of Bachelor of
Arts and, after finishing in theology at St. \'incent's. Beatty. Pennsylvania,
he was ordained June JQ. 1888. His first work was as assistant pastor in
the cathedral at Ft. Wayne. Indiana. In 1891 he was given pastoral charge
of St. Mary's in East Chicago, and was the principal factor in building the
present church at that place. In 1895 he was assigned to the Sacred Heart
church at Whiting, Indiana, and purchased the land on which were built the
church, St. Michael's hall, the Sisters' academy and school and the parochial
residence. He also bought property and built a Imuse and church fur the first
Slavonian parish in the diocese. Transferred to the cathedral at Ft. Wayne,
he remained there until the condition of the parish required his presence at
Union City, Indiana, and to that point he was sent to remain two years. In
1901 he was transferred to St. Ann's in Lafayette and since then has accept-
ably filled that important charge. There has been great progress binder Father
Byrne's energetic management. The church building" has been completed,
additional property bought, many ini])ni\ements brought about, and a new
residence constructed in 1908. When he took charge, the congregation was
twelve thousand dollars in deln. but all nf this has been paid, while the mem-
bershi]) has been increased fmm one hundred tn oxer fmir hundred families.
Father Byrne is a menilier of the Ancient Ortler of Hiljernians and wa> direct-
or during three dift'erent terms. At ])resent he is chap<lain for the Indiana
branch of the order and chairman nf the cnmmittee on Irish hist-ry. He be-
longs to the Catholic Knights of St. John, the Tippecanoe countv board of
charities and corrections and serves as a member of the police board without
pay. The congregation of St. Ann's is much attached to Father Byrne, whose
kindly manners, sympathetic nature, readiness to help those in need and un-
selfish devotion to all good causes ha\-e endeare<l him to the whole population
of Lafavette,
JOSEPH CHARLES .VRTHL^R,
Perhaps no department of agriculture in all its numerous branches calls
for the exercise of higher science or more delicate skill than that relating to
the physiology and pathology of plants. It is comparativelv a modern science
75^ PAST AND PRESENT
and while embraced under the general head of botan)', has a distinctive twen-
tieth-century flavor. The successful prosecution of such work demands highly
trained minds, educated by long study both in theory and practice, besides
being possessed of a natural adaptability for the pursuit. In other words, it
must be a scholar of the first grade, with ability akin to genius, to give the
best results in what is regarded as a department of the first importance in the
domain of agricultural science as applied to the vegetable world. Some de-
tails concerning the accomplished gentleman who tills this chair at Purdue
University will prove acceptable and interesting. The family is of New York
origin. Charles Arthur, who was a farmer and merchant, married Anna
Allen, by whom he had two children. Joseph Charles Arthur, the only son,
was born at Lowville, New York, January ii, 1850, but obtained his early
education in the schools of Iowa. Before reaching his majority he entered
the Iowa Agricultural College at Ames, and was a graduate in the first class
of that institution in 1872. His degree of Bachelor of Science then obtained
was followed in 1877 by the supplementary degree of Master of Science. His
subsequent educational career embraced terms at Johns Hopkins University
in 1878-9, at Harvard in 1879, and at Cornell in 1886, where he obtained
the degree of Doctor of Science. During the interval between the last two
dates mentioned, he was at the experiment station at Geneva, New York, and
in 1896 he spent some time at Bonn University. In 1887 he came to Purdue
University as professor of vegetable physiology and pathology and was ap-
pointed botanist of the Indiana experiment station in 1888. In 1886 he was
sectional secretary of the American Association for Advancement of Science,
assistant general secretary in 1887, and vice-president in 1895. and president
of the Botanical Society of America in 1902. In 1904 he was one of the
principal speakers at the International Congress of Arts and Sciences at St.
Louis. He has held numerous important positions in connection with various
learned societies, including the academies of Iowa, Philadelphia and Indiana,
of which last he was president in 1893. INIuch of his work has been tlexoted
to fungous diseases of cultivated crops and plant rusts.
Professor .^r'hrr is a man of nervous temperament, f|uick perception, a
hard and persistent worker, with the fine touch and intuiti(in which indicate
the superior mind. He is not inclined to talk much, but what he says is
always to the point and any one interested in his special branch of knowledge
after an hour's talk with him will go av.ay feeling that he has been greatly
benefitted. Professor Arthur is afTable in manner, sincere in his intercourse,
direct in method, and a profound student in the difficult branch of science to
which he has devoted his life. Purdue University was fortunate in securing
TIPPECANOE COUNTY^ IND. 759
his services, and the farmtrs and market gardeners of Indiana as weU as all
others who cume in contact with the vegetable world will in thiie get the
benefit of the work done so silently and efifectively in the laboratory at Purdue.
The bulletins sent out from time to time convey useful knowledge of various
kinds and those who heed will be able to escape luss, as well as learn much
concerning plant life which will be useful in their business.
JOHN F. BURLEY.
The state of Ohio has sent many of its best citizens to the western coun-
try who have transformed it from a wilderness to a country equal in every
way to the great Buckeye commonwealth. Of this number of worthy citizens
who came to Tippecanoe county, Indiana, the name of John F. Burley should
be mentioned. He was born in Greenville, Darke county, Ohio, January ii,
1830, the son of Thornton H. and Mary A. Burley, both natives of Virginia.
John F. Burley came to this city in an early day and was successful in estab-
lishing a good home here and leaving a competency for his family. His
death occurred May 29, 1859.
John F. Burley and ;\Iary A. Bookwalter were married December 4,
1856. She was born in Piqua county, Ohio, September 11, 1829, and her
parents were from Pennsylvania. Her father's name was Jacob Bookwalter
and her mother's maiden name was Juiia .Vnn Shuck. Jacob Bookwalter
was twice married and reared a large family, consisting of fifteen children.
There were seven children by Mary A.'s mother and eight by her step-mother.
fi\-e girls and ten boys; three boys and one girl are now living.
One son was born to Mr. and Mrs. John F. Burley, named Charles F.,
who was born February 21, 1858. He married Minnie Brownley, a native of
Michigan, and they are the parents of three living children, one son and two
daughters. Charles F. Burley is a traveling salesman for Maxwell & Com-
pany, of Chicago, and is a very energetic and faithful business man. He has
a good education and has gained much from the world first-handed which
renders his services valuable to his employers who regard him as one of the
most capable salesman. He has a nice home and a fine family.
Mrs. Mary A. Burley lives in a very comfortable and attractive home at
No. 212 South Si.\th street. Her father was a farmer and she was reared
in a wholesome home atmosphere which she has ever sought
to maintain about her lionie. She was reared in the Meth-
760 PAST AND PRESENT
odist Episcopal faitli. She deliglits to tell of the early days of
Tippecanoe count}-, for she was but thirteen years old when she came here
and she has noted the wondrous changes that have taken place here since then.
When lier parents came here they settled four and one-half miles west of
Logansport in the stone-quarry district. She recalls the operations on the old
canal when she says all the music she heard was the bugles and the frogs
during the spring months. In that community then could be found all kinds
of wild fruits and plenty of game. j\Irs. Bnrley is a well preserved woman
for one of her advanced years. She is a good conversationalist, having a most
excellent memory, recalling e\ents of historic interest in the long ago. She
has always been a hard and constant worker and is yet very active, being alert
in body and mind, and is a good mother and neighbur. She has reared a son
of whom any mother might be proud.
THOMAS G. McKEE.
Prominently identified with the industrial and civic affairs of Tippe-
canoe county is Thomas G. ]\lclvee. who is one of the progressi\e farmers
of this locality, residing on a beautiful farmstead in Lauramie township,
which he has improved and on which he makes a very comfortable living
by reason of his close application and good management : but while he de-
votes the major part of his time t>> his individual aftairs he was ne\er known
to neglect his duties to the public at large. He was born in Franklin county.
Indiana, August 24., 1829, and his long life has been spent within the borders
of the Hoosier state, and now in the golden evening of his days he finds
himself surrounded by the evidences of his former years of actixitv and can
look back upon a career of w hich no one might be ashamed. He is the son
of Eli C. and Xancy (Griffin) ]\IcKee, the latter the daughter of Dr. E.
Griffin, a well-known pioneer physician. Xancy Griffin was born in the state
of Kentucky. \\'hen Eli C. ^IcKee, a rugged, honest pioneer, came to
Lauramie township. Tippecanoe county. Indiana, on September 20. 18,^3,
he found practically a wilderness. Init, being a hard worker, he soon had a
foothold here and established a good home. To y\v. and ^Irs. Eli C. Mckee
eight children w-ere Ijorn. only three of wlmm are now li\-ing. namelv :
Thomas G., of this re\iew. whu is now eighty years of age; Enes. who was
born October t6. 1830: and Samuel.
THOMAS G. McKEE
TIPPECANOE COUNTVj IND. 761
Thomas (i. McKee was two years old when liis parents brought him to
this county. He grew to manhood in Lauramie township, and after reach-
ing the proper age assisted with the work on tlie farm. Owing to the fact
that it was necessary for liim to help clear and improve his father's place
and also because of the primitive schools of those early days, he received only
a limited education, but this has not handicapped him in his business life, for
he has succeeded over all obstacles. ■ He remained at home 'until he was
twenty-one years of age. and. on April i. 1851, he was married to Julia Ann
Abbott, and to this union six children were Isorn. of whom, one daughter,
Harriet A., is the wife of Harvey Tinsley. of Crawfordsville, Indiana.
Thomas C, the oldest son. was born August 12. i860, and died December
2, 1899, and Marquis Morton, the second son, was born December 18, 1863,
and died October 28, 1893, both being laid to rest at Clark's Hill cemetery.
Maud E., born ^Niav 12. 1867, died November 26, 1889. INIrs. McKee, who
was Ixirn June 9, 1829, died Alarch 18, 1889.
]Mr. McKee has devoted his life to farming, and he now has a cijmfort-
al)le home in Lauramie township where his long life has been spent. In
November of 1886 he was elected sheriff of Tippecanoe county, and .so faith-
fully did he serve his fellow citizens in this capacity that they returned him to
the same office in 1888. his official service ending August 25, 1891. He has
always been a Republican and has taken considerable interest in local po-
litical affairs. It is generally acknowledged that he was one of the best
sherififs Tippecanoe county has ever had. .\fter his term of office expired
he purchased a farm, but later sold it and for many years engaged ex-
tensively in stock shipping, of which he made a great success. He is now
practically retired from active life.
Fraternally, Mr. McKee is a member of Miller Lodge, Free and Ac-
cepted Masons, and he has long been a loyal worker in the same, exempli-
fying in his daily life the honest and humanitarian principles which this
noble order seeks to inculcate.
WILLIAM H. H. ^lOORE. M. D.
Among the young physicians of Lafayette, who ha\e their careers before
them, none give brighter promise of success than Doctor Moore. He has all
the prime qualities that usually secure results, as he is abstemious, industrious,
attentive t<> his duties and possessed of the genial address so essential in
762 PAST AND PRESENT
making friends. Those who know him best express their great confidence in
his future, declaring that he is a natural-born physician and full of an ambi-
tion that will brook no failure. Dr. Moore comes from a good family. Henry
H. Moore, his father, was well known in this part of Indiana as a merchant
and farmer. His acquaintance was wide and the esteem for him general.
He married Elizabeth S. Sleeper, with whom he lived happily until his death
in 1906. His widow, a highly esteemed lady, quiet and motherly of disposi-
tion, is an honored resident of West Lafayette.
William H. H. Moore, the only child, was born in Benton county, In-
diana, May 4, 1880, and in youth was given every advantage his parents
could afTord. He attended the schools of Otterbein during his minority and
entered Purdue University in 1899. Four years of hard study was put in
mastering the courses mapped out as desirable and in the spring of 1903 the
diligent student was rewarded with a degree of Bachelor of Science. Having
decided on a professional career, the next step was to matriculate at Rush
Medical College in Chicago, where he went through the departments that
fitted him for graduation in 1906. He obtained practical knowledge to sup-
plement his theoretical acquirements by engaging as interne, or house physi-
cian, at St. Ann's Sanitarium and St. Elizabeth's Hospital in Chicago. To
these positions Dr. Moore devoted sixteen months and then returned to Lafay-
ette to make arrangements for his professional debut. In March, 1908, he
located in the Columbia Flats, opened a nent little office, "hung out his
shingle" and invited the public to enter. There is no doubt but what his
patients will be plentiful in due time. Docti r Moore is a member of the
Tippecanoe County, State and American Medical -Associations and also be-
longs to the Young ]\Ien's Christian Association and the Lincoln Club. He is
quite popular with his associates and enjoys the entree into some of the best
societv the citv afifords.
FRANKLIN GEORGE BAUGHER.
F. G. Baugher is remembered by the people of Lafayette as a business
man of extraordinary perseverance and integrity, having during a very active
life accumulated a competency for his family and then passed on to that
"undiscovered bourne from whence no traveler ever returns," but his influence
is still felt by those \\ ho knew him best, for his life was an example worthy of
emulation in manv respects. He was a native of one of the Eastern states,
and had two lirothers and several sisters. His father came to Lafayette,
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 763
Indiana, and died here. F.G.Baugher came to this city with his uncle,William
Rank, a blacksmith, wlio taught the trade to the subject, wliich lie followed
for a livelihood, becoming known as one of the most skillful workmen at die
forge in the county. His death occurred December 4, 1880.
Franklin G. Baugher and Mary A. Ford were married January 21, 1846.
She was born in Lebanon county, Pennsylvania, May 10, 1829, the daughter
of Daniel and Catherine (Koch) Ford, both natives of Pennsylvania. Mr.
Ford was a carpenter by trade and during his life handled some large and
important jobs. He and his wife came to Tippecanoe county, Indiana, when
Mary A., their daughter, was nine years old, the trip from the old home in
the Keystone state being made in wagons overland. This was in 1838 when
most of this part of the country was yet covered with the virgin forests.
Mr. Ford began business in his new home by opening a butcher shop, most
of his trading in this line being done in Cincinnati where he found a ready
market for his products, the shipments being made by canal. Their family
consisted of six children, four girls and two boys, all of whom grew to ma-
turity. Mary A. received her education in the old-time subscription schools.
To Franklin G. and Mary A. Baugher five children were born, one girl
and four boys, three of. whom lived to maturity. Their names follow : Henry,
who is a printer Ijy trade, married Minnie Barker, of Grand Rapids, Michigan,
but no children have been born to them; Frank G., Jr., is married and has
lived in the Reynolds mansion in Lafayette for over twenty years; Walter L.
married Jennie Ward, of this city, and they became the parents of four chil-
dren, an equal number of boys and girls. Walter L. Baugher died in July,
1903. He had followed paper hanging and art decorating for a livelihood,
and was a very skilled workman. Anna Yesler, a niece of Mrs. Baugher, was
horn in Pennsylvania, December 2, 1858. and she came to the Baugher home
when four years old. She takes a delight in caring for ]\Irs. Bauglier. Her
father's name was John Yesler. Sarah E. Baugher was a sister of the suliject
of this sketch.
Mr. and Mrs. Baugher moved into the home now occupied bv Mrs.
Baugher in 1848, two years after their marriage, and during this long lapse
she has noted the development of the locality from a mere hamlet to a great
commercial center. Her children were all born here. It is a substantial brick
house at No. 15 South Sixth street, and the latch-string is alwavs hanging on
the outside for the many friends of ]\trs. Baugher. some of them of long
standing, for she has been well kno\\n here from tlie earlv davs to the present,
and tlie exemplary life she has lived has made her popular with her acquaint-
ances. She is a well preserved woman, looking twenty years younger than
764 PAST AXD PRESENT
her age. She does a great deal of reading and sewing and other work. She
is a faithful member of the Presbyterian church. Her life has been, in the
main, happy, although beset by many trials incident to living in a new country.
She is kind to all, and her motherly care and influence is felt by everyone
who comes into her presence.
JOSEPH BEXJA-MIX BEAUCOXD.
Fighting fires in cities has long passed from the amateur stage to the
highest point of discipline and scientific accomplishment. Onlv the best men
and best machinery are fitted for the work, the inefficient being barred and
the incompetent told to stand aside. As fire fighting has become more and
more a science and the management of a department recjuiring a high order of
generalship combined with bravery, self-control and- a coolness of temperament
that defies heat, it is considered a great honor to hold the position of chief.
The people respect him and 1( ok up to him as a hero, he often becomes a
martyr to his profession, which is extra hazardous, and thus for many reasons
the list that contains the names of firemen is regarded as a roll of honor.
At Lafayette, the man who fills this honorable place is Joseph B. Beiuc nd
and the very fact that he holds it is sufficient proof that he obtained it on
merit, by possessing those sturdy qualities of budy and mind tint enter intn the
making- of commanders. The Beauconds were an nld family in I-"li yd county,
Indiana, before the Civil w-ar and some of its members figured honorably in
the development of that section. Henry J. Beaucond, born in 1816, died
in 1893, ■^'^'^s a farmer by regular vocation, but he did a good deal of contract-
ing as a side line. He married ^lary Byrnes, by whom he had four sons.
John H., Joseph B., Francis J. and Peter ^I.
Joseph B. Beaucond, the second of these children, was liorn at Xew
Albany, Indiana, July 7, 1859, and was reared in the place of his nati\it\-.
Between school terms he spent his vacations 111 the farm helping his f-ulier
with the harvest and crop attendance and so cnntinued until the C'jmpletinn
of the sixteenth year of his age. At that time he became an apprentice to learn
the trade of locomotive boiler-making and spent several years in mastering
its intricacies. After fulfilling all the requirements to become a journeyman
he worked at his trade in Birmingham, Alabama, for two years and, returning
to X^ew Albany, w-as employed there for the same length of time. His next
engagement was with the C. E. & I. Railroad Cunipany, after
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 765
tlie completion of which he laid off temporarily from his regular
employment to become a fireman at Xew Albany. At this juncture he dabbled
in politics to some extent on the Democratic side, but eventually resigned
from the fire department of his own accord and entered the employ of the
Monon Railroad Company to work at his regular trade. For two years he
was connected with the police force at Xew Albany and this was followed by a
re-engagement with the Monon Raih'oad Company to work at his regular
trade. While thus employed he located at Lafayette in 1894 and for the
next twelve years he worked in the Monon shops. In 1907 he was made chief
of the city fire department and has since discharged the duties of that respon-
sible position. He has a natural aptitude for this work accentuated by a
previous experience in the same line at New Albany, and he has "made good"
in every way since he took charge of the position three years ago. The evi-
dence of this is his high standing among the fire chiefs of the state, the con-
fidence manifested in him by the fire insurance companies and the good will
and respect that have come to him from all the citizens of Lafayette.
Mr. Beaucond married Idda ^^'ardell, of Scottsburg, Lidiana, and they
have one son, Charles A., who was born January 14, 1895, and is now one of
the youngest pupils in the high school. Mr. Beaucond's only fraternal rela-
tions are in connection with the Fraternal Order of Eagles, of which he has
been a longtime member. His acquaintance is extensive in various parts of
the state, where he has lived and worked, and in all these places he is pleas-
antly rememl:ered as an industriius mechanic and citizen without reproach.
ARETT C. ARXETT, :\L D.
Recognized among the leading physicians of Lafavette, Indiana, of the
younger generation, there is none better known and with a wider circle of
friends than Dr. A. C. Arnett. He is a native of Tippecanoe county, born
August 21, 1882, and is a son of A. J. and Elizabeth (McBroom) Arnett.
The elder Arnett is a resident of Jackson township, Tippecanoe county, and
has long been prominent in agricultural lines as well as a political worker in
the Republican party. He served as trustee of his township and has always
taken an active interest in the campaigning in his county. Having practically
retired from farming, it is proljable that he and his wife will eventually
become residents of Lafavette. To them were born the following children :
766 PAST AND PRESENT
Arett C, the subject of this sketch; C. X., now professor in Purdue Univer-
sity ; R. E., a student in the city high school.
Arett C. Arnett received his early mental training in the district school
of his native home and later graduated from the city high school. He still
later matriculated in the Northern Indiana Normal University at Valparaiso
and completed the scientific course there. He entered medical school in 1903
and graduated in 1907. He won signal honors during his collegiate work
and was classed as a close and discriminating student. He was an undergrad-
uate interne at the Eleanor Hospital for one year and later was in the same
position with Bobbs' Dispensary. He is connected with the hospital corps of
the Indiana National Guard. In his early practice he was associated with Dr.
George D. Kahlo and Dr. A. C. Kimberlin for two years. He was also house
physician at St. Elizabeth's Hospital for one year. Doctor Arnett located in
his present quarters in 1908 where he has built up an enviable practice and has
made many friends by his kindly ministrations. He is a member of several
medical societies and fraternities, including the Tippecanoe County Medical
Society and the American Medical Association. In addition he is a Mason
and a member of the Lincoln Club, being a strong Republican.
Doctor Arnett was married on November 11, 1908, to Ethel McKinstray,
of Noblesville, Indiana. She is a graduate of Depauw University at Green-
castle, Indiana, and a woman with many excellent qualities of mind. Doctor
Arnett is a man of many social excellencies and with a bright outlook for his
future success.
ROBERT HENRY McGRATH.
Prominent among those identified \\ith the business interests of the city
of Lafayette is Robert H. McGrath, who succeeded to his father's interests in
the foundry and machine works, counted among the city's chief assets from
an industrial standpoint. He was born in the city where he has always re-
sided, on May 5, 1859, and is a son of Robert M. and Catherine (O'Grady)
McGrath. The father was a native of Reading, Pennsylvania, and the
mother a native born of the Emerald Isle. She came to America to join a
brother who had emigrated to United States in 1848. Robert M. McGrath
was a member of the engineering corps on the survey of the old Wabash &
Erie canal and in that way came to Lafayette, where he subsequently located.
He embarked in the foundry and machine business just across the street from
where the present business of the son is located. He was in partnership with
TIPPECANOE COUNTY^ IND. 767
Joseph Hubler and purchased the site where the present foundry is situated.
He died in 1889 and was active in business until the time of his death.
In i88g the son, Robert McGrath, came into possession of the enterprise,
which he has since actively conducted with all success.
To the elder McGrath and wife were born seven children, six of whom
are still living, as follows : Charles, deceased ; Robert H. McGrath ; Catherine,
who married Edward Miller and lives in Cincinnati, Ohio; Helen, widow of
Thomas F. McMahan, of Lafayette; Frances, who married Edward F. Bren-
nan and lives in Indianapolis; George, of Los Angeles, California.
Robert H. McGrath was reared in the city of his nativity and obtained
his education in the graded schools, a business course in a commercial college
and later entered Notre Dame University, of the class of 1876. He was a
close student and graduated with honors and then returned to Lafayette where
he entered business for himself in partnership with his father. With the
energy cliaracteristic of the Irish race, the jNlcGraths applied themselves to
business and were scon foremost among the tradesmen of their kind in
western Indiana. By hard work and perse\-erance they accumulated a com-
petency and were honored by their neighbors and friends. Robert always
took much interest in the progress of the city and was in politics. He was
elected as waterworks trustee in 1900 and served three years, being re-elected ■
for a second term. In 1905 he v.^as appointed by the mayor as president of
the board of public works, which position he now holds with credit to him-
self and the party that put him there.
In 1887 he was married to Mary Ward, of Indianapolis, Indiana, and
to the union four children were born, as follows : Genevieve, Irma, Helen
and Robert. The children are either attending school or graduates of some
institution.
Robert McGrath is a member of the Catholic church and also a member
of the Knights of Columbus. In politics he is a Democrat, a good citizen,
progressive and honorable, and always willing to do his duty as he finds it.
He has a large following of friends and is revered as a good citizen and
neighbor.
ADAH McMAHAN, M. D.
The subject of this sketch has been long and favorably known in Lafay-
ette, and has unusual talent, which has been improved by thorough education
and years of experience. Her family is one of the best, possessing historic
military records in two wars and always counted among the patriotic in times
768 PAST AND PRESENT
of national crisis. Her fatlier. Dr. William R. McAIahan, was a gallant sol-
dier of the Civil war. going early and staying late, leaving no bad marks
against himself and rising by merit to the rank of first lieutenant of his com-
pany. On the maternal side. lJ)r. Adah McMahan is a great-granddaughter
of Capt. Jacob Guiger, a veteran of the battle of Tippecanoe, where the Indians
of Tecumseh's tribe were so disastrously routed by the American forces under
Gen. W'illiam Henry Harrison. Captain Guiger commanded one of the com-
panies of volunteers who went out under the ccmmand of Major Spencer, of
the Kentucky volunteers. Captain Guiger led his troops gallantly in the charge
against the savages, was wounded in the action and received the thanks of
congress for his bravery.
Dr. Adah McAIahan was born at Huntingburg, DuBois county, Indiana,
and received her elementary education in the graded and high school of lier
native city. After reaching the proper age she entered as a student the
Indiana State University, where by diligence and hard study she was honored
with the degrees of Bachelor of Arts and blaster of Arts. She next mttricu-
lated in the Northwestern University and after a thorough course in the med-
ical department she carried off the coveted degree of Doctor of Aledicine. her
graduation occurring with the class of 1897. Previous to going to Chicago,
'however, Doctor AIcMahan had been connected with the Girls' Classical
School at Evansville and later Avas at the head of the Greek department of
the Duluth ( ^Minnesota ) high school. In all of these positions she proved
to be a successful educator, energetic in her work, resourceful in methods
and prompt in the discharge of her duties. In the fall of 1897, Doctor Mc-
Mahan located at Lafayette where she has since been continuously engaged in
the practice of her profession. These twelve years have been busy ones for
her and the work she has accomplished is a tribute to her push and skill.
Though she makes a specialty of the diseases of women and children, she
also enjoys an extensive general practice. She is a memlier of the Tippecanoe
County, Indiana State and American Aledical Associations. Socially
.she is a member of the local chapter of the Daughters nf the American Revo-
lution and her religious affiliations are with the Second Presbvterian church.
FILAXDER TAYLOR VESS.
A worthy representative of an old and honored \'irginia familv. and
one of the progressive agriculturists of Tippecanoe countv is Filander T.
Vess, whose excellent farm in Randolph township is a model of advanced
^L.-a^i^
^I'tf nyZ
6e^^
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 769
scientific farming. His birth occurred in Rockbridge county, \"irginia,
i\Iay 28. 1855, and it was tliere that he received his education in the common
schools, passing through wliat would now be known as the eighth grade.
He is the son of Matthew and ]\Iary (Moore) \'ess. both natives of Vir-
ginia and representatives of as fine old Southern families as could be found
in the Old Dominion. They were reared, educated and married there, their
wedding occurring in 1839. They managed very successfully a farm in
Rockbridge county where, as stated, their son Filander was born. The
mother passed to the "silent halls of death" in ^March. i860, at the early age
of thirty-two years, and she lies buried near the town of Lexington, Vir-
ginia. Her husband survived her eleven years. They were the parents of
seven children, all of whom grew to maturity, two now being deceased. In
order of birth they were as follows : John. ^Nlary. Jake. \\'i!liam, Filander,
Hulda and Sally. The deceased members are Mary and Jake, who are
buried at St. Paul, Shelby county, Indiana. After the death of his first wife,
Matthew Vess, in the year 1861, married his second wife, Mary Ann Archer,
a native of Virginia. They came to Indiana and lived in Shelby county for
about a year (T868). then Matthew \'ess returned to Virginia with his fam-
ily, where he died in December. 1871. at the age of fifty-tW(T years.
Four children were born to Matthew \'ess by his second marriage,
namely: Oliver C, James R.. Gertie L. and Missouri, who died in infancy
while the family lived in Shelby county, Indiana.
Filander T. \'e5s remained with his parents in A'irginia until he went
to \\'est \'irginia. where he remained until his twenty-first year, then came
to Indiana and worked on a farm 1iy the month for two years, after which
lie returned to \\'est \"irginia, in which state he was married on March ti,
1S77, to Sarah Katherine Carte. She was l3orn in Roane county. West Vir-
ginia. October 6. 1S55. the daughter of Crawford and Margaret C. Carte,
both natives of \\'est \'irginia, in which state they lived until the death of
the father, which occurred shortl}- after his daughter's marriage to the sub-
ject. His widow survives, making her home with her daughter. Mrs. Vess,
in Tippecanoe county. Indiana. Slie enjiys very good health for one who
has reached the age of seventy-five years. ^Ir. and Mrs. Crawford Carte
were the parents of eleven children. ^Irs. \'ess being the second in order of
birth: the other children are Rebecca, Sarah C, John M.. W. A., :\Iary, Joe
C. and Cal. tJie last two deceased, and r^Ieady. who lives in Canada.
.\fter the marriage of Filander T. A'ess. he and his wife returned to
Indiana within a few davs. landing in Lafavette with onlv fiftv dollars in
(49)
770 PAST AND PRESENT
capital. They lx)th went to work on a farm in this county where they lived
for a few years. By hard work and close economy they were enabled to
buy land and stock, and, having prospered ever since, they now own a fine
farm of one hundred and twenty acres, which is among the very best farm-
ing land in Randolph township, Tippecanoe county, being well stocked and
under high grade cultivation and well improved. They have a fine home
and substantial outbuildings. Mr. Vess makes a specialty of raising Red
Jersey hogs and Jersey cows.
To Mr. and Mrs. Vess five children have been born, four of whom grew
to maturity, one having died in childhood. In order of birth they are Alto
Maude, born August 21, 1879, is the wife of George K. Stafford; they reside
in Lafayette, Mr. Stafford being postmaster of West Lafayette; George
Edgar was born July 25, 1886, and died February 24, 1881 ; Ora Florence,
bom March 27, 1882, is the wife of Charles Spears, of Lafayette; Charles
Ernest, born April 23, 1884, has remained single; Harry Earl, born July 22,
1890, married Nora Conrow, and they reside in Romney, Indiana.
In his fraternal relations, Mr. Vess is a member of Randolph Lodge,
No. 376, Independent Order of Odd Fellow's, at Romney. of which' lie is
treasurer, and he also belongs to Maracopa -Tribe, No. 325, Improved Order
of Red Men, at Linden, Indiana. Mr. Vess was formerly a Democrat, but
of recent years he has supported the Republican ticket, and has taken quite
an active part in political affairs; however, he has never aspired to public
office, but he was prevailed upon to serve a term of four years as super-
visor of Randolph township, which he did very creditably. Both he and his
wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church at Romney and they
are very active in church work, Mr. Vess being a member of the stewards
and a trustee of this congregation. Herman \^ess. nephew of Mr. and Mrs.
Vess, who was drowned in Wea creek on June 29. 1902, was a very prom-
ising lad, his loss being a severe blow to ^Ir. and Mrs. Vess, as they were
rearing him.
GEORGE K. THROCKMORTON. M. D.
Standing jM'ominently among the younger physicians of Lafayette, In-
diana, is Dr. George K. Throckmorton, a native born of Tippecanoe C(iunty
and well known in medical circles of western Indiana. He was born April i,
1862, and is a son of Edmond and Elizabeth ( De\'ault.) Throckmorton. The
elder Throckmorton came from \^irginia in 1838 and settled in Tippecanoe
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 771
county and lived there all his life. He was a farmer and by his thrift and hard
work accumulated considerable property, although when he began life he had
nothing but his courage and willing hands. At one time he owned three
hundred acres of land which he had obtained through his own efforts. He
was known as a God-fearing man and a member of the Presbyterian church.
He died in 1903, his wife having preceded him in 1894. They were the
parents of four children, three of whom are living. Warner T. and Foreman
W. are farmers of Tippecanoe county and well-to-do citizens. Dr. George
Throckmorton, the other son, was reared on a farm and attended the district
school until he was sixteen years of age. He entered the preparatory-
department of Purdue University and in 1883 graduated from that institu-
tion. He then entered Rush Medical College of Chicago, Illinois, and grad-
uated therefrom in 1887, after which he located in Lafayette, Indiana, and
has been a resident of that city since. He is favorably known to his brethren
of the medical profession and also has a large and growing practice. His
ability as a surgeon is known outside of his own environs. He is a member
of the staff of St. Elizabeth's Hospital and has been for the last sixteen years.
He is also the physician fcr the Tippecanoe Children's Home and at one
time was elected coroner of the county and was also secretary of the county
board of health for five years. Doctor Throckmorton took a post-graduate
course in medicine in Chicago and New York and is considered peculiarly
well equipped for his life's profession. He has always been identified with
the commercial interests of his city and county and, in addition to owning a
fine farm in Tippecanoe county, he is a stockholder in the American National
Bank and possesses an elegant home at 520 North Seventh street, Lafayette.
At one time he served as president of the State Medical Society and is also a
member of the county organization.
In 1890 Doctor Throckmorton was united in marriage to Rosalie Rein-
hardt. She died in October, the following year, leaving one daughter, Georgia
R.. who is now in the Lafayette high school. He is a member of the Presby-
terian church and has been identified with its work. Doctor Throckmorton's
specialty is surgery and his fame in this direction is not confined to this
localitv.
HERMAN H. EVANS.
Born and reared in the city of Lafayette and a son of one of its old-time
citizens, Herman Evans started in life surrounded by home influences and
^J^2 PAST AND PRESENT
with friends wlio had recognized the worth of his father and lent to the son
the recognition due him. The young man was born February 26, 1873, and
is a son of John and Helen (Kessener) Evans. The elder Evans was one of
the first contractors of the city of Lafayette, and many of the buildings now
standing in that city are monuments of his ability. He was of German
parentage and was a success in his life's work. He had the reputation of
being a straight-forward, honest man, and his sviccess was largely due to the
honesty of his methods. He was the father of a large family of children,
eight of whom are now living. He was a member of the Catholic church,
as was his wife, and lived and died well revered by his fellow citizens. His
death occurred on January 30, 1893, and his wife's the follow?ing year.
Herman Evans followed his father's footsteps, as a contractor, and also
added the undertaking business to his line. He was educated in the Catholic
schools of the city as well as the public schools. Not caring for a higher
learning, the young man started to see the world and soon found himself in
the West. He satiated his desire for the wanderlust and about the age of
twenty years started into the contracting business. Later he joined forces
with his brother, J(jhn C, and they have made a success of the business and
are among the foremost contractors of the city.
In 1900 Herman Evans entered the undertaking business under the firm
nnme of Evans & Scheffee. Howe\er, he gives this business but little of his
time, leaving the details to his partner.
Herman Evans has always taken mucli interest in the political game,
Ijeing a Democrat by preferment. At one time he was a candidate for city
councilman against Dr. John M. Smith and others. Although his ward is
largely Republican, he gave his opponents a spectacular race. Later he entered
the mayoralty contest and put up a magnificent fight, losing the xictory by a
heart-breaking finish of two votes. .\t the time he made the race the city
was Republican by fi\e hundred majorii)-. He is now serving as a member
of the board nf public health.
In 1902 Mr. Evars was united in marriage to Grace Curtiss. They
are members of the ?t. Boniface Catholic church. .Aside from being a shrewd
business man. Herman Evans is a lover of the great outdoors and spends as
much time as lie can in hunting and fishing. He takes pride in his ability as
a rifle shot and is accredited as one of the best marksmen m
the state. His life in the npen has given him a powerful physique
and be is in the glow of health, affaljle, jolly and well liked
bv all who know him.
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 773
SYLVESTER H. TACKSON.
S. H. Jackson, a prominent business man of Lafayette, at the head of
one of the largest hardware and implement companies in the city, also pro-
prietor of the Jackson livery barn, is a native of Tippecanoe county. Indiana,
born in Wabash township <m May ^8, 1859. His parents, Andrew J. and
Mary (Sparks) Jackson, moved tn the county from Pennsylvania, their native
state, about 1850, and for some years thereafter the father did a thriving
business as a contractor and builder and became one of the enterprising men
and representative citizens of the township in which he resided. The family
consisted of four children, two sons and two daughters, all living and well
settled in life and greatly esteemed in their respective places of abode.
Sylvester H. Jackson was educated in the public schools and Purdue
University, and for a period of four years taught in the schools of W'abash
township, in connection with which he also farmed for se\eral years, meet-
ing with encouraging success as an educator and a tiller of the S(_iil. Later
he became a resident oi Wabash township, where he served se\en years as
trustee and at the expiration of that time, or perhaps a little subsequent to
that time, he discontinued agricultural pursuits and accepted a position with
the hardware firm of Jamison Brothers. Lafayette, in whose employ he re-
mained during the ten years ensuing. He then engaged in the hardware
trade for himself and during the past nine years has- been the executive head
and general manager of the Jackson Hardware and Lnplement Company, of
Lafa\ette, one of the largest and most successful mercantile companies of
northern Indiana. The building occupied by the corporation is thirty by
one hundred and twenty feet in area, the height five stories and the floor
space amounting to twelve thousand square feet. The company handles all
kinds of hardware, purchasing the same by car-load lots, farm implements of
every variety, besides twine, which is also bought by the car-load, wagons,
buggies, harness, etc. — in fact all articles and implements and every kind of
machinerj' for which there is any demand by the agriculturist or the general
trade, the rapid growth of the business indicating the intelligence, sound
judgment and forethought exercised by the clear-brained and far-seeing man-
ager. In connection with this rapidly growing enterprise, Mr. Jackson is
also proprietor of a large livery barn at Xos. 10 and 11 Soutli Third street,
where he keeps about fifty fine roadsters and a full line of buggies, carriages,
hacks and other veliicles, the establishment being complete in all of its parts,
fully equipped to meet the demands of the public, and the alreadv quite ex-
774 PAST AND PRESENT
tensive business is steadily increasing and earning for the proprietor an
honorable reputation as a capable, enterprising and popular man of affairs.
The livery barn, which is two stories high and sixty by one hundred and
twenty feet in area, fronts on Third and South streets and is equipped with
everything essential to the successful prosecution of the business, the service
both day and night leaving nothing to be desired and every feature of the
establishment is in first-class condition, which bespeaks the interest and
care with which it is conducted.
Mr. Jackson is a Republican in politics and a member of the Masonic
brotherhood, also belonging to the order of Druids and the Sigma Chi
college fraternity. He was married in August, 1880, to Miss Nancy AI.
Jamison, one of the eleven children of John and Prudence (Wright) Jami-
son, the union being blessed with four children, namely: Frank B., who
was born April 23, 1886, was educated in the schools at Lafayatte and Purdue
University and is now associated with his father in the hardware and im-
plement business ; Mary M., born August 10, 1883, received her education in
the city schools and is now the wife of Bernard Bogan, who is connected
with a packing company in Lafayette; Prudence, whose birth occurred Oc-
tober I, i88g, was educated in the common and high schools, graduate of
Ama Morgan School of Dramatic Art. Chicago, and is now a dramatic
reader; Earl, the oldest member of the family, a bright intelligent lad and
a favorite with all who knew him, died when eleven years of age.
Mr. Jackson has long taken an active part in public matters, and during
his four years in the city council did much to promote the interests of the
municipality. While a memlier of that body, he \\as chairman of the finance
committee and as such rendered valuable service in maintaining the credit of
the city by reducing expenses to the minimum and using his influence wher-
ever possible to prevent injudicious legislation. All worthy enterprises, how-
ever, have found in him a willing patron, and he has ever stood for those
measures having for their object the social, intellectual and moral progress of
his community.
Mr. Jackson possesses a forceful personality and, with strong common
sense and well balanced judgment, exercises not only an active, but potential
influence in the commimity, and impresses those with whom he has business
relations as a man witln the well-being of his fellow citizens at heart. Prac-
tical ratiier than thei retical. there runs through his nature a deep undercur-
rent of soliditv which makes his presence felt among those with whom he
comes in contact and the ease with which he manages the large establish-
ment, of which he is the head, demonstrates his fitness to manage and to carry
to successful conclusion important and far-reaching enterprises.
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 775
COL. JOHN W. WARNER.
If for no other reason, the gentleman whose name introduces this sketch
deserves prominent mention in a history of this nature because of his services
in behalf of the national Union during the dark days of the sixties, for he
fearlessly followed the old flag on many of the sanguinary battlefields of the
South, and since that period has taken no small interest in military and
public afifairs.
Col. John \V. Warner l^elongs to that class of foreign-born citizens
who have done so much for the upbuilding of the New World, having been
a native of Ireland, in which country he first saw the light of day October
6, 1839, the son of Robert S. and Jane (Ross-Wright) Warner, his mother
having been a widow when she married Robert S. Warner. This couple
came to the United States, locating in Lafayette,Indiana, as early as 1849, and
they played no small part in the subsequent development of the place. They
later moved ten miles northwest of the city, where Mr. Warner devoted his
attention to the quiet pursuits of a husbandman. He passed to his rest in
1891, his good wife having preceded him to the other world twenty years
earlier, in 1871. They were the parents of seven children, three of whom
are living, in 1909.
When John W. Warner was a boy he assisted his father with the work
on tlie farm, gaining in the winter time what education he could from the
primitixe schools of those early days, which was necessarily limited in its
scope. In 1 86 1 he married, and when he heard the call for troops from his
adopted country to suppress the hosts of rebellion he was one of the first
to heed the call, and he left his bride and the quiet environments of home
to take up the hardships of camp and field, enlisting in Company A, of the
famous Eleventh Indiana Volunteer Cavalry, which was assigned to duty
with the army of the Cumberland, and it did duty in Alabama, Tennessee and
Kentucky. Mr. Warner was in the service two years, perfonning his work
so faithfully that he was commissioned orderly sergeant. He was in the
hospital a short time. At the close of the war he received an honorable dis-
charge and, returning to Lafayette, resumed farming, but in 1870 moved
into the city. He served one year, 1870-1871, as deputy sherifif, then he went
on the police force where he remained for two years. After engaging in other
things for two years, he again became a member of the force on which he re-
mained for a period of seven years, giving excellent service. He served as
court bailiff for eight years, beginning in 1882. He has long been a very
active worker in the Republican party and by reason of his services he was
776 PAST AND PRESENT
elected justice of the peace in 1894, having served continimusly ever since
in a manner that has won tlie hearty approx'al of his constituents. He cast
his first vote for Abraham Lincohi in i860.
To Mr. and Mrs. \\'arner six children were born, all li\ing. They are
Robert E.. who is a city mail carrier: William J., a railway mail clerk;
Harry C. and Edward T. live in Indianapolis and are expert polishers;
Robert E. also lives in Indianapolis; Clara, the only daughter, is the wife of
a Mr. Freshouer.
In his fraternal relations the subject belongs to Lafayette Lodge, Xo.
51. Knights of Pythias: Lafayette Lodge, Xo. 15. Independent Order of
Odd Fellows; also a member of the Lafayette Lodge. Xo. i. Uniform Rank,
Knights of Pythias. He is past commander of the John A. Logan Post,
Grand Army of the Republic, and he is at this writing colonel of the Eighth
Regiment. Indiana X'ational Guard, being regarded as a \ery able and
efficient commander. He is serving on liis second term, having been elected
in 1903. He is xevy proud of his regiment, and well he may be, for it is
always in a high state of efficiency, largely due to his effi:)rts.
At the unveiling of the Tippecanoe monument. Colonel Warner was
appointed marshal. The Tenth L'nited States Regiment of the Regular army
was present and its commander, Lieutenant-Colonel Ciecel, complimented
Colonel Warner \-ery highly on his work that day. The Colonel is a man
whom everybody likes and trusts, and few men in the country are Ijetter
known than he.
TOHX W. GAY.
The mention of this name carries the local historian back to the period
of struggle, when a mighty arm}- of sturdy pioneers were engaged in con-
quering the West. The search of the genealogical tree takes us to England,
where w^e find John Gay migrating to the L'nited States prior to the Revolu-
tionary war, establishing a home in Pennsylvania and dying in Ohio at the
remarkable age of one hundred and three years. His son Jacob, born in
AVestmoreland county, Pennsylvania, followed the tide of emigration to Ohio,
married Amy Herbert, a native of New Jersey and daughter of Thomas
Herbert, one of the first settlers of Ohio. Jacob Gay died in 1848. at the
age of fifty-seven years, and his w-ife died in 1867. Samuel Gay. his only
son. was one of five children, all long since deceased. He was born in
Pickaway county, Ohio, October 28, 1812. emigrated to Indiana in youth
and became one of the early settlers of Tippecanoe county. He came here
■c^
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^^^^:,^^^^^
d>^kaJ ^c
■a^
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. J-JJ
with his parents in 1834, when his father bouglu three hundred acres of
partly impro\-ed land in Wayne township. The old people are buried in the
Sherry cemetery, nearby the homestead. Samuel Gay grew up like all other
pioneer farm boys with little time for schooling, but much for hard work.
On October 11. 1837. he married Eliza, daughter of William and Xancy
Reed, of Ross county, Ohio, and Ijy this union there were seven children:
John \\'. and Emeline, who lives with him; Josephine, wife of Alonzo Bos-
well, of ^^'ayne township; Seymour; James Madison, of Wayne township;
Sanford, of Oklahoma, and Samuel, also of Wayne township. The father
of this family became an extensive landowner, as he added to his father's
original purchase until he had some seven hundred acres. He was a very
liberal man, always read}- to contribute to public enterprises and Xo help his
fellowman in distress. Thciugh a stanch Whig- and Republican, he would
never accept office, his heart being set on agricultural pursuits. He be-
longed to no orders and showed little disposition to join any organization
that required him to be away from heme. He died in September, 1902, after
completing his ninetieth year. His wife, who has always been a devout
Methodist, survives him and reached the end of her eighty-ninth year on
July I, 1909. He is buried in Sherry cemetery, which ct)ntains the bones
of several generations of the family.
John W. Gay, the eldest son of Samuel, was born in \\'avne township,
Tippecanoe county, Indiana, October 14. 1840. He went through all the
rough experiences of a pioneer boy on an Indiaiia farm, which consisted of
hard licks from morning until night, few amusements and only such edu-
cation as could be picked up by short winter attendance in the poor schools
of those days. He grew up on a farm, learned all about farming and in
the end owned a farm of his own, which he managed with skill and industry.
He has long been one of the largest landowners of Wayne township, at one
time having one thousand one hundred acres, which, however, have been
reduced to nine hundred. He is highly respected, as, indeed, are his broth-
ers and sisters and all the connection of Gays, who stand for the oldest and
best the county has to show in agricultural developments, their lives being
the connecting link between the pioneer past and the progressive present.
CAPT. WILLIAM C. MITCHELL.
In every community are to be found individuals who by reason of pro-
nounced ability and forceful personality rise superior to the majoritv and
command the hoi-nage of their fellows; -who, by revealing to the world the
yy^ PAST AND PRESENT
two resplendent virtues, perseverance in purpose and directing spirit, never
fail to attain positions of honor and trust and become in the full sense of
the term leaders of men. Of this class is the well-known gentleman whose
name appears above, a man who ranks among the leading citizens of Tippe-
canoe county and who for a number of years has borne an influential part
in shaping and directing the affairs of the city in which he resides.
Capt. \\'illiam C. ^Mitchell, attorney at law and president of the Mitchell
Abstract Company, is one of Indiana's native sons and comes of good old
Revolutionary stock, his great-grandfather. Robert Mitchell, having been a
hero of the colonial struggle for independence, serving in a \'irginia regi-
ment and achieving an honorable record for duty bravely and faithfully per-
formed. He lived for a number of years to enjoy the liberty for which he
so gallantly fought, dying on the 26th day of July, 1827. Other members
of the family also served the country in a military capacity, several of the
name having taken part in the war of 181 2 and earned records of which their
descendants feel deservedly proud. Joseph Mitchell, the subject's father, was
born March 4. 1817. in Champaign county. Ohio, came to Indiana in 1832,
and after living in Montgomery county for twenty-four years moved to
Clark's Hill in Tippecanoe county, where he resided until his removal to the
Tippecanoe Battle Ground, two years later. He followed at different times
farming, merchandising and railroad contracting, and was enterprising in all
of his undertakings and prosperous. He married Lx>uisa M. Kendall, of
Champaign county, Ohio, reared a family of ten children, eight of whom
survive, and departed this life on March 8, 1880, his wife dying in Feb-
ruary. 1 891.
Capt. William C. IMitchell was born July 9. 1854. in :Montgomery
county, Indiana, and when about tv>o years of age was brought to Tippe-
canoe county, with the interests of which his subsequent life has been very
closely interwoven. He was greatly a debtor to the influences of birth and
early training, and it may be added that he fully appreciated these and other
advantages which he enjoyed during his childhood and youth, and met the
responsibilities that fell to him as he grew to manhood's estate in a manner
befitting one who while still young determined to rise above the mediocrity
and become of some use in the world. After acquiring a good education in
the schools of Battle Ground, he began his independent career in' 1874 as
deputy county recorder and two years later became deputy clerk, which posi-
tion beheld until his election in 1882 to the important office of clerk of Tippe-
canoe county. Mr. Mitchell entered upon his duties in the latter capacity
and discharged the same in an eminently able and satisfactory manner until
the close of his term in 1886, when he retired from the office and the fol-
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 779
lowing year, in partnership with J. M. Dresser, engaged in the real estate,
insurance, loan and abstract business, which he has since followed. His
partner dying in 1894, Mr. Mitchell conducted the business alone until 1902,
when the Mitchell Abstract Company was organized and incorporated, since
which time the enterprise has grown rapidly in public favor, and now does
a much larger business in the various lines represented than any other man
or firm in Lafayette similarly engaged. As president and general manager of
the above corporation, Mr. Mitchell has demonstrated ability and acumen of
a high order and his familiarity with the business which he conducts makes
him an authority upon all matters pertaining thereto. In connection with
the large and growing patronage in real estate, insurance, abstract convey-
ancing and loans, he also has a lucrative law practice, having fitted himseli
for the profession when a young man, and since his admission to the bar,
in 1886, he has built up an extensive legal business, devoting especial at-
tention to laws relating to real estate and probate matters. He has achieved
marked success both in the enterprise of which he is executive head and as a
financier. In all public affairs affecting his city and county he has ever mani-
fested a lively interest, doing his share towards progress and advancement
and making his influence felt in bettering the social and moral condition of
his fellowmen. He gives his allegiance to the Republican party, with which
he has been identified since becoming a voter, and it was his activity and
popularity as a politician that led to his nomination and election to the im-
portant office of clerk of the courts which he so ably and worthily filled.
Mr. Mitchell, on April 4, 1883, was united in marriage with Amelia
Schweizer, of Lafayette, the union being blessed with one daughter. Roe,
whose birth occurred in Lafayette and who is still with her parents. This
young lady has been educated in the Lafayette high school and in Dr.
Gardner's School, a female seminary in New York city.
Captain Mitchell is a thirty-second-degree Mason and active in the sub-
ordinate branches of the order, in nearly all of which he has been honored
from time to time with important official positions; he is also prominent in
the Knights of Pythias and was the first captain of Division No. i, Uniform
Rank, in Lafayette, in addition to which societies he holds membership with
the Druids and the Lincoln Club and takes an active part in the deliberations
of the same. He has always taken an active part in military afifairs, and
served for several years as captain of De Hart Light Infantry. In his
religious belief he holds to the Episcopal faith, being a vestrvman of the
church with which he is identified, and to him belongs the honor of being
one of the few members of the Sons of the American Revolution in the
city of Lafayette.
/So PAST AXD PRESEN-;
THOMAS H. WHALEX. M. D.
This popular physician of Lafayette has an interesting story to tell of
a neglected boyhood, hardships of a friendless child, persistence against
great odds, and final triumph o\er all difficulties. It is a tale that might be
told to the credit (jf any man. and it invoh-es the exercise of the sterner
virtues out of which we get t'le best of our citizenship. It is instrnctix'e
and beneficial, as it points the wa}- for others, and shows that however great
the discouragements. howe\"er biting the poverty, everything will cDUie out
all right if the materials are there for the making of a real man. Thoni:i5
H. W'halen was born in Pennsylvania. IMay 17, 1863. under circumstances
that the old astrologers would have pronounced an "unlucky star." His
parents, Thomas and Delia (Linket) W'halen, were miserably poor, the
father being a common railroad lalx)rer. who had difficulty in earning the
support for his family. Even this frail reliance was taken away from their
child by the untimely death of both father and mother, and he found him-
self orphaned at an age so young as to render him an object of charity.
He met what is probably the worst fate that can befall a child, that of being
bound out to work for strangers. He fell to the care of one Thomas Earl,
for whom he did chores and light work in summer, while attending school
desultorily in winter. When eight years old he ran away and. boy-like, he
had no idea as to where he was going. He found refuge with another
farmer in the adjoining neighborhood, but. after a brief residence, again took
leave and trusted his keeping for a short time with one Benjamin Bowers,
At length he reached more solid ground, when he obtained employment
with William Cullim, a well-to-do farmer of Sheffield township, Tippecanoe
county. He remained here until he reached his majority and meantime had
saved some money, as well as acquiring sufficient education to qualify him
to teach. Securing charge of a country school, he followed the occupation
of a pedagogue for fourteen years, taking advantage of the interludes to ground
himself in the elements of medicine. After a course of reading, which gave
him the necessary qualifications, he became a student in the Illinois INIedical
College and obtained the degree of Doctor of Medicine from that institution
in the class of 1898. In November of that year he located at Lafayette and
has ever since been one of the fixtures of the city, gaining friends as well
as clients in numbers sufficient to make him prosperous. Being energetic,
well qualified for his profession and a natural maker of friends, his ten
years' residence in Lafayette has yielded results that should gratify any
TIPPEC-\NOE COUNTY, IND. jSl
ordinary ambition. He is a member of tbe Tippecanoe County, Indiana State
and American Medical Associations and has been especially honored by ap-
pointment as a member of the city board of health. Doctor Whalen is a
member of the Masonic order and the Knights of Pythias, being past
chancellor of the latter lodge. Politically the Doctor affiliates with the Re-
publican party, and his religious views find expression as a member of St.
Mary's Catholic church.
In 1891 Doctor Whalen married Helen Clark, a niece of William
Cullim, who died in 1893 without issue. In 1902 he married Barbara Kienby,
a native of Tippecanoe county, bom November 12, 1880. By this union
there has been one child, Bertha Rose, born November g, 1906. Mrs.
Whalen's ancestors, originally from Germany, were early settlers of Tippe-
canoe countv, and her father is a veteran of the Civil war.
CHARLES BERGOUIST.
Charles Bergquist belongs to that class of men whii win in life's battles
by sheer force of personality and determination, rather than by the influence
of friends or caprice of fortune, and in whatever he has undertaken he has
shown himself to be a man of ability and honor, faithful to whatever trust
that lias been reposed in him, and as the postmaster and merchant at South
Raub. Randolph township, Tippecanoe county, he plays an important role in
that community. His l)irth occurred on June 5, i860, in Kalmar Lane.
Sweden, a ciumtry that has sent so many valuable citizens to America. He is
the son of Jonas Frederick antl Emma Louisa ( Xelson) Bergquist, both
nati\"es of Sweden, in which ctumiry they lived and died. Jonas Bergquist
was a blacksmith by trade and a '>ery skilled workman. They were people
of industry and integrity, and to them three children were born, of whom
Charles is the only nne now living. He received a good education in the
schools of his nati\e country. His father having died in 1865 and his mother
in 1870. Charles went to live \\ith an uncle. Alexander Nelson, with whom
he remained for a period of nine years. He also lived with another man
for one year. Ha\-ing heard of the wonderful republic across the sea,
Charles determined to try his fortunes in .\merica. to which countrv he came
in 1880. He had an uncle in Lafayette and one in Tipton countv. Indiana.
He came to the former place, and first worked for a farmer in Randnlph
township, later worked for Robert Sample, of Lafayette, in the car works
782
PAST AND PRESENT
for several years, also worked in the Pullman car shops one year. Then
he went to Henry county, Illinois, and worked on a railroad during the
summer, then worked on a farm for two years, after which he returned to
the car shops in Lafayette. Being- faithful to his duties and economical, he
was enabled during those years to lay by enough money to begin life for
himself.
]\Ir. Bergquist was married in 1878 to Amanda Gustafson, a native of
Sweden and a woman in every way worthy to be the helpmeet of an enter-
prising man like Mr. Bergquist. They have become the parents of six chil-
dren, namely : Florence, Roy, deceased ; Ruth, Alice, Frank and Harold.
In October, 1899, Mr. Bergquist located at South Raub, where he has
since resided. He purchased the store owned by William A. Ward, and he
has managed the same successfully, building up an extensive trade with the
surrounding community. He was appointed postmaster, and the two em-
ployments keep him busy. He handles large quantities of eggs and butter and
carries a well-selected stock of goods. He is truly a self-made man, and
the success that has attended his efforts shows him to be a good manager.
He is a Republican in politics and belongs to the Methodist Episcopal church.
His reputation is that of an honest man who attends carefully to his own
business afifairs.
JOHN WILLIA^I CANN.
No man who has lived near Stockwell, Tippecanoe county, in recent
years stamped his personality upon the community in a more indelible m in-
ner than did John William Cann. who. after a long life of unusual industry
and honor, passed into the silent land amid the sorrowing multitude that
had long known and loved him, for they realized thit his place cc.uld never be
filled. He was born October 4, 1834. near Wheeling. West Virginia, the
son of Philip and Elizabeth (Hass) Cann, natives of West Virginia who
came early to Concord, Indiana, where they labored to establish a home in
the undeveloped region and where the father died; after this event Mrs.
Cann went to Illinois, later to Kansas, in which state she died in 1897. Thev
were the parents of seven children, named in order of birth as follows :
Margaret. Mary, John William, Peter, Robert, Christopher and Thomas.
The Hass family originated in Virginia, in w hich state the-\' were preeminent
in the early days, having owned large plantations and manv sla\-es, and.
like most of the inhabitants of the Old Dominion state in ante-bellum dav^.
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 783
were noted for their unstinted hospitality. Finally members of this family
came to Indiana where they soon became identified with the new conditions
here and became well-to-do.
The early education of John W. Cann was obtained in the common
schools. It was necessary for him to look after the wants of his mother
and other members of the family, which he did like a dutiful son until his
marriage, on October 3, 1864, to Rachael Mildred DeHart. She was born
in Wea township on the old Allen DeHart farm, January 21, 1847, the
daughter of Allen and Maria (Holliday) DeHart, the former a native of
Ohio and the latter of Indiana. Allen DeHart came with his parents, Adam
and Mary (Howard) DeHart, to Wea township, Tippecanoe county, in
1825, when this section was wild and mostly uncultivated. Allen DeHart
was born February 25, 1825. In that year his parents, who were Virginians,
left that state for Ohio, where they remained for a short time before coming
on to Indiana. They reared a family and spent the remainder of their lives
in Tippecanoe county, having been pioneers in the section where they settled,
and they had for neighbors the Indians, who were then peaceable. Allen
DeHart was twice married, first to Maria Holliday, which union resulted
in the birth of only one child, Rachel Mildred, who became the wife of the
gentleman whose name heads this review. Mr. DeHart's second marriage
was with Emeline Williams, a native of Ohio, and one child was born to this
union, Lewis Milton DeHart, now a retired farmer living in Lafayette, In-
diana. He first married Zua Alima Hall, a native of Tippecanoe county,
by whom he had one child. Myrtle Olive; his second marriage was with
Mary Edwards, no children having been bcrn to the latter union.
Mr. and Mrs. John W. Cann were the parents of three children, namely:
Edward Curtis, who farms on the old home place in Wea township ; he
married Zelma Williams. Mary Ellen married James C. Davis, of near
Thorntown, Indiana, and became the mother of one child, Edna Ethel, who
married Carl Hedges, of Hendricks county, Indiana. Morton Colfax Cann
is a traveling salesman for the Smith Manufacturing Company of Chicago,
and lives in Lafayette, Indiana; he married Grace L. Shoemaker.
After their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. John W. Cann settled in section 36.
Wea township, Tippecanoe county, where Mrs. Cann now lives on ninety-
eight acres. When they settled this place it was all wild and covered with
timber, but Mr. Cann was a hard worker and set about clearing the same,
finally developing an excellent farm and establishing a good home in which he
took a great delight and where he spent the major part of his time, having
been a good hu.sband and a kind father. Although he was verv active in
784 PAST AND PRESENT
local political aitairs, being a stanch I\e])uljlican. lie never soughl public
office. He was a member of the Christian church, with which Mrs. Cann is
also identified. He took much interest in the affairs of the local congregation
with which he affiliated. This good man was called to his rest April 5,
ic;o3. leaving behind him a comf(irtable home and competence for his family,
every member of which is well and favorably known in this locality, main-
taining the high standard of character and citizenship which he exemplified.
JOHX STEVEXS BUSH.
The subject of this sketch, who is now living in retirement at his com-
fortable home in Dayton, has had a long and honorable career and is now
enjoying the closing years of his life in pleasant retrospection of the years
which have held for him so many varied elements of life. Mr. Bush comes
of honorable ancestry and this sketch would be incomplete if menti(in were
not made of those from whom he has inherited those sterling qualities of
character which have characterized him.
The subject's paternal grandparents were William and Elizabeth
(Stevens) Bush. The latter's mother was Abigail Stevens, who died De-
cember 2^. 1839, at the age of eighty-nine years and eight days, and her
bod}' lies in the old Bush cemetery at Dayton. The Bush family is of English
descent, ^^'illiam Bush was b<^rn and reared in southern Xew York, but in
the early twenties he came to Indiana by the water route, going down the
Allegheny river to the Ohio, thence to the mouth of the Whitewater and
up to Connersville. Here they remained a year, during which period he
erected a mill. In the fall of 1824 they again started westward and located
at what is now Dayton, Tippecanoe county. Here William Bush entered
and later lx)ught fifteen hundred acres of land. In 1827 he divided a por-
tion of this land into town lots, to which be ga\e the name of Fairfield.
However, there being another town of tlie same name in Indiana, he found
it impossible to secure a postoffice here under that name and in 1830 it was
changed to Marquis, and suljsequently to that of Dayton, under which name
it has since been known.
At the first election, held probably in the spring of 1825, William Bush
was elected justice of the peace, in which ofifice he served a number of years.
After deciding on his new location, ]Mr. Bush at once entered on the task of
clearing the land' f > r cultivation, and he built a cijmfortable log cabin on the
JOHN S. BUSH
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 785
brow of the hill overlooking Wild Cat valley. This was the family home
for a number of years, and on this site is now located the Bush family
cemetery where lie his remains, together with those of his wife and mother-
in-law, Abigail Stevens. William Bush later built a frame house, the one
now occupied as a residence by Mr. Newhard. This homle became the stoi>-
ping place for the circuit-riding preachers of that day, who there found a
hospitfable welcome. It is related of William Bush that, while he gave the
preachers a hearty welcome and furnished them horse feed, he always in-
sisted that they should groom and feed their own steeds. His wife was a
faithful member of the Methodist Episcopal church and he was a liberal
supixjrter of the same. He was a member of the Masonic lodge at La-
fayette, and in politics was a stanch Whig. His death occurred June i, 1854,
and his wife died February 11, 1846, at the age of sixty-two years. This
honored couple were the parents of the following children : John, Eliza
(who became the wife of Thomas J. Toole), Ezra (father of the immediate
subject of this sketch), William, Jared, David, Luther and Orlando.
Ezra Bush was born in New York state and came to Indiana with his
parents. He remained under the parental roof until his marriage, after
which he ran the old tavern until the death of his wife. They had become
the parents of one son, who was named Hickory in honor of the fact that he
was born on the day that Andrew Jackson defeated the British at New
Orleans. Hickory is now deceased. For a time after the death of his wife,
Mr. Bush traveled extensively, and then he settled on a farm south of Day-
ton, where he remained for a number of years. He then went to Lafay-
ette where he engaged in the monument business up to the time of his death,
which occurred in October, 1870. He was a member of the Masonic order
and retained a faithful connection with the Presbyterian church in his later
life. In politics he was a Republican. Mr. Bush first married Sairah A.
Bayless, a native of Hamilton, Ohio, of which unicn John S. Bush is the only
living child. In 1847 Mr. Bush married Martha McGeorge, and to them
were born two children, namely: Mary, the wife of Robert John, now
deceased, and she now resides at Houston, Texas; and Martha M., deceased.
John Stevens Bush was born at Dayton on the 13th of September, 1839,
and was here reared and educated. He remained with his parents until the
outbreak of hostilities between the North and the South, when, in August,
1862, he enlisted in Company G, Seventy-second Regiment Indiana Vol-
unteer Infantry. His command was assigned to the famous Wilder Brigade,
Army of the Cumberland, and with that command the subject saw some
arduous service. Much of the time he was emplnyed in chasing Morp-an's
(.SO)
736 PAST AND PRESENT
guerrilla command, and in this service he contracted ill health, which finally
put him on the inactive list and he was subsequently honorably discharged at
Bowling Green, Kentucky. He at once returned to his home at Dayton and
subsequently entirely regained his health. Going to Iroquois county, Illinois,
he engaged in farming and stock raising with fair success until 1892, when
he went into the drug business at Sheldon, Illinois, in which he was engaged
until 1900. In that year he removed to Culver, Indiana, and engaged in
the hotel business until 1908. Having accumulated a fair amount of means
and feeling the weight of years, he decided to retire from active business life
and return to his old home in Dayton, where he is now living.
While living in Illinois, Mr. Bush married Sarah B. Speck, whose death
occurred in 1902, and subsequently he wedded Mrs. Lydia Wilson, nee
Burkhalter. By her former marriage, Mrs. Bush had a daughter Mabel, who
becnmie the wife of William Ruger. They live in Dayton and are the par-
ents of a daughter, Florence Louise.
In matters political Mr. Bush is loyal to the Republican party and he
takes a keen interest in the trend of public events. In 1885 Mr. Bush was
made a Mason in Sheldon Lodge, No. 609, at Sheldon, Illinois, but subse-
quently dimitted to the lodge at Culver, Indiana, where he now holds mem-
bership. He is ialso a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, having
his name on the roster of the post at Culver. Though now practically re-
tired from life's active duties, Mr. Bush takes a deep interest in all that goes
on about him and renders a hearty support to those ^things which are for the
highest interests of the community. He possesses a genial personality and
has a large circle of friends.
JOSEPHINE M. MITCHELL. M. D.
The woman in medicine, once such a novelty as to excite wondering, has
long since ceased to challenge extraordinary attention. It was found that
she was especially adapted to the healing art, being a nurse by nature and
full of sympathy so essential to success in the sick room. While fully equial
to the requirements of every department, there were certain branches of
medicine where a special call seemed to be made for female super\'ision. In
diseases of women and children, in all hospitals devoted to these specialties,
the woman physician was peculiarly at home. Thus it has come to pass that
women physicians are now to be found everywhere in Europe and the
United States, and also among the heathen as medical missionaries Some of
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 787
them have risen to great eminence, both as speciahsts and general prac-
titioners. They are received on equal footing with men in the great univer-
sities, are welcomed in the most refined homes and often include in their
clientele the brightest and best men and women of our progressive com-
munities.
In Dr. Josephine M. Mitchell Lafayette possesses a fine sample of
the highly educated and fully equipped woman physician, equal to every
emergency and prepared by study and practice to treat the most difficult
cases. She is a native of New York and daughter of William H. Miner, for
many years a merchant in that state. He removed to Wisconsin and later to
Ohio, where Doctor Mitchell was married to John B. Mitchell, for many
years superintendent of bridges and' buildings of the Wabash railroad and
later in the same capacity on the Big Four. After his death, in 1894, she
took up the study of medicine. A preparatory course in science at Purdue
University was followed by the regular medical course in the University of
Michigan, from which she was graduated in 1901. During her senior year
in this university she was on the staff of the professor of gynecology and
obstetrics. After graduation she took the state examination of Indiana and
Illinois, after which she spent a year as house physician in the Hospital for
Women and Children at Detroit. She then went abroad for a year, doing
post-graduate work in London and Vienna, returning to Lafayette in 1903
to take up the practice of medicine.
Doctor Mitchell stands well in her profession and is an honored mem-
ber of the various societies devoted to physicians and their work. Included
in these are the Tippecanoe County, Indiana State and American Medical
Associations, besides such social and fraternity organizations as the Alpha
Epsilon Iota sorority and the Daughters of the American Revolution. She
is a member of the Presbyterian church and is connected with some of the
charity institutions, also a member of the executive lx)ard of the Society for
the Prevention of Tuberculosis.
DANIEL B. FRETZ.
The Lafayette family of this name is of Gemian origin. Daniel Fretz,
who was born in Pennsylvania, had a son named Enos, who was born at
the parental home in Lehigh county and married Sophia Brunner, of Alsace-
Lorraine. Both father and son came to Tippecanoe county in 1853 and lo-
cated in Perry township, where they spent the remainder of their da^-s.
788 PAST AND PRESENT
Enos Fretz, who was an only chiUl, learned the shoemaker's trade and fol-
lowed it as an occupation for twenty-seven years, during which time he gave
instructions to nine apprentices for terms of two years each. \Yhen he came
here alone in 1852 to look up a location, he bought eighty acres of timber.
a half-mile south of Pettit, and next year his parents joined him. He pur-
chased the Bains saw and grist mills, which he ran for over thirty years,
while farming at the same time. He was an active worker in the Cerman
Reformed church and became quite prominent as a citizen and business man .
in his community. He died in 1889. at the age of seventy-seven years, and
his wife passed away in 1886, aged sixty-eight. When they came to Tippe-
canoe countv there were eight children in the family. Elizabeth, the eldest,
married T. F. Reis, of Mulberry, Indiana ; Encs, the third child, died in No-
vember, 1908, at Mulberry, while in the marble and monument business;
he married Sallie ^loyer; William, the fourth child, married Pauline Roth
and is a farmer one-half mile east of >Ionitor, Indiana ; Sophia is the widow
of Presley Baker, of Perry township: Henry, who married Lulu Frey. is a
sawmill owner in Mellott. Fountain county, Indiana; Charles, who married
Kittie Karn. is a wealthy and up-to-date farmer and stock dealer, owning
three large farms; ^larv is the wife of James Rothenberger, of jMulberry;
Philip, the youngest child, and the only one born in Tippecanoe county, mar-
ried Retta Harlen, and runs a sawmill and lives in \'irginia.
Daniel B. Fretz. second in age of his father's nine children, was born
in Lehigh county, Pennsylvania, January 20. 1839, and was about fourteen
vears old when his parents settled in this section. He remained at home
until twenty-two years old, spent three years in Indianapolis, working two
vears in the Etna mill and one year in the Capital flour mill. Immediately
after coming to Tippecanoe county he liegan working with his father in
the mill, and was consequently well up in the business by the time he reached
his majority. In 1864 he was married at Indianapolis to .\manda Brown,
of Lehigh county, Pennsylvania, who died in 1866, leaving one child named
Sarah, now the wife of John Myer, of West Lafayette, with two children.
Carlton and Aldine. In 1867 Mr. Fretz married Almina Roth, of Clinton
county, Indiana, who died August 12, 1895. without issue. Januan,- 28.
1896. Mr. Fretz married Mary E. Etter, of Perry township, a daughter of
John H. and Susan fLeinger) Etter, of Franklin county. Pennsylvania,
who came to Tippecanoe county in 1865. By his last marriage, INIr, Fretz
has three children, Solomon, Maude and Theodore. After his first marriage
he ran the Pvrmont mill for two years and also managed his father's mill
for the same length of time. February 22, 1870, he located at Monitor, in
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 789
Perry township, and bought the mihs owned by Daggert, Potter & Martin.
In 1 87 1 he fitted up one of these as a gristmiU and converted the others into
a sawmill in 1885. Mr. Fretz has always done some farming en the side
and now owns a place of fifty-nine acres, which he cuhivates. He belongs
to the English Lutheran church and helped build the one at Pettit. He
is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America at ^Monitor. [Mrs. Fretz
is a breeder of White Leghorns and Light Brahma chickens and has a
fine lot of this class of high-grade poultry. In 1892 Mr. Fretz b^uilt a fine
home, which has gas and all the modern improvements.
WILLIA^I WERDEX SMITH.
Autobiography.
^^'illiam Werden Smith, the subject of this sketch, was born seven miles
west of Springfield, Clark county, Ohio, on July 7, 1835. His great-grand-
father. Hezekiah Smith, was born in Wales: came to America and settled in
New Jersey in the year 1740. His grandfather, Peter Smith, was born in
New Jersey, February 6, 1753, was educated at Princeton and was married
to Catherine Stout December 23, 1776, and resided in Philadelphia several
years. He wrote that in the winter 1777 he inoculated one hundred and
thirty persons for smallpox. This was before vaccination was practiced. In
the ye^r 1790 he moved to Georgia. Believing' slavery to be wrong, he always
advocated the freedom of the slave and the education of the colored race. In
1787 congress passed an ordinance organizing the Northwest territory, lying
north of the Ohio river and including what is now the states of Ohio. Indiana,
Illinois, Michigan and W'isconsin. In this ordinance slavery or involuntary
servitude was forever prohibited from any part of this territory. Grandfather
decided to move his family to free territory and in the year 1794 he, with
five or six other families, arranged to move to the Northwest territory, the
country through which they passed being a wilderness. The only roads they
had to guide them were the Indian trails blazed through the wilderness. Be-
fore starting they organized bv electing Grandfather captain. They used
pack horses, on which everything they had was carried. Grandfather's fam-
ily consisted of nine children, two of these, the youngest, being twins. Father
Abraham Smith, being six years old, remembered a great many incidents
of this journey. Grandmother rode a large horse and led another horse on
which the twins were placed, each in a basket, especially prepared, being
790 PAST AND PRESENT
fastened together and placed on tlie horse, one on each side, so that they
balanced. In these baskets were good pillows, so that it made a comfortable
way of riding. They made a rule of going into camp on Friday evening,
always trying to camp on some stream of water, and not breaking camp until
Monday morning. This gave them a chance to do their washing, and Sunday
was strictly a day of rest and for religious worship. They crossed the Ohio
river and located at Columbia, five or six miles above the present site of
Cincinnati. The fort was located where Cincinnati now stands, and William
Henry Harrison, then a young man, had charge of the fort. During the
years of residence on a farm near Cincinnati Grandfather practiced medicine
and spent the time in preaching, the records of the old Baptist church showing
that he was ordained pastor of the Duck Creek church in 1801. In 1805
Grandfather moved to what was then known as the Miami country, and
located on Donnel's creek, about seven miles west of the present city of
Springfield, Ohio. But few others had preceded him to the i\Iad river
country. Flere he and his sons located on three half-sections of land, and a
part of this in after years became the home of my father, Abraham Smith.
Here on this farm was born our family of nine children, I being the youngest.
Grandfather spent nearly all his later years in life in preaching, traveling on
horseback. In two or three different years he traveled as far east as the state
of New York, attending yearly meetings, which were similar to our camp
meetings. Father, having sold his farm, in September, 1845, with two good
horses and a covered wagon, started for the West, in fact, for the far West,
which meant Illinois. Our line of travel was the old National Road, built by
the United States government. It was completed as far west as Sprino"field,
Ohio, but from there on through Indiana to Terre Haute the roadway was
cleared through the heavy timber one hundred feet wide, bridges and culverts
were built, Washington street, Indianapolis, being a part of this road. About
this time the road was turned over by the government to the states through
which it passed. The first place of note, and dreaded by all movers, was
what was known as the Black Swamp, which lay about half way between
Indianapolis and the Ohio state line, and was about thirty miles through.
The next place v "s Indianapolis, which was a straggling town with but little
trade and a poor faiminn- country surrounding it, and was noted only as the
capital of the state. The next place we came to was Terre Haute. It and
Lafayette were two of the best towns in Indiana on account of the river
navigation and the Wabash-Erie canal, which extended from Toledo, Ohio, to
Evans\-ille. Indiana. Father located in Lawrence county, Illinois, and bought
an impni\ed farm alxnit twenty miles west of \"incennes. Deer and wild
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 79I
turkey \\ere plentiful. Deer were killed from October ist to February ist.
Every neighborhood had its hunter who would usually kill from seventy-five
to one hundred deer during the season. There was good demand for the
hides and a saddle of venison (which meant the hams and loins together).
In the fall of the year everybody could have venison. Every cabin had its
spinning wheel and loom. We raised our sheep and flax and made our own
clothing. Corn and buckwheat was largely used for bread, as there was
but little wheat raised at this time. There were a few horse mills for grind-
ing corn scattered over the country. Horses were fastened to a lever and
driven around and around, but it would take two or three hours to grind a
bushel of corn. In the fall of the year we would take a lead of corn and
buckwheat sufificient to last until the next April, and go some distance to
a water mill. The buckwheat when ground was carried by hand to a bolt and
many a time have I turned the crank to bolt the flour for our buckwheat cake.
\\'e had the satisfaction of knowing we had the pure buckwheat flour, but
sometimes it was pretty gritty, being threshed on the ground and cleaned by
making wind with a sheet instead of a wind mill, which was often done. The
attraction for the young people was preaching, the Sunday and singing
schools. Camp meetings were looked forward to with unusual interest, the
camp ground being located near us in a beautiful grove. Instead of the
modern cottage was the log cabin, covered with clapboards, with weight poles
to hold them in place. Puncheons were split from trees for the floors of
the cabins and for seats. The meetings would continue about six weeks.
The spiritual feeling ran high and was demonstrated in no uncertain way in
the preaching, singing, prayers and shouting. It was looked forward to as
one great general meeting ground, where families and friends, separated by
the demands of necessity for the greater part of the year, were reunited. It
meant social as well as religious life to our forefathers. Their lives were
lived along different lines than these of their grandchildren. They took time
to live and enjoy as they went along. With laden baskets of good things to
eat, the father, mother and children went happily on their way to the grove
where the meeting was to be held, and once there, happiness reigned supreme.
The women discussed household afifairs, the men crops and politics, until the
hour of service. When the speaker spoke, as a rule, it was not in the well
trained tones of the modern scholar of theology, or the picturesque language
of the modern evangelist. He held forth on the iniquities of life, the dangers
of hell. His voice was loud, his gestures at times uncouth, but the flame of
a stern resolve blazed from his eyes. We had giants in those days, Peter
Cartwright, James B. Finlev. Richard Hargrave and others, and much good
793 PAST AND PRESENT
was done; each and all accepted the simple statement that, "Be good and vou
go to heaven — be bad and you go to hell," as conclusive, and shaped their
lives accordingl)'. As the result of these meetings, think of the home life
kept pure, the sorrowing hearts comforted, the children trained, spiritual life
sustained, the moral sentiment inculcated ; giving permanency to order, value
to property, dignity to law, lifting the fallen, and educating the ignorant. If
the shades of our grandparents attended one of our modern services, listened
to the learned lecture of the preacher, heard the music of the organ, the trained
voices singing the hymns, they would wonder much wherein it was an im-
provement over the old days. When some sister would start singing with
much earnestness some good old-fashioned hymn she thought suitable for the
occasion, immediately after instead of the congregation looking around at her
with shocked looks, the entire crowd would join in and sing itself into a
trance of spiritual enjoyment, that made rugged faces beautiful, and lifted
them upward to the plane of higher things.
In the summer of 1852 I taught a subscription school in one of the camp-
ground cabins, and boarded at the homes of the scholars. In our spelling
matches I was seldom beaten. I had mastered arithmetic, in addition, subtrac-
tion, multiplication and division, which was all we needed at that time, could
write a plain hand and was in demand as a teacher. In the winter of 1852-3
I taught a school in one of the oldest school districts in the county and taught
the same school in the winter of 1853-4. In the winter of 1854-5 I was
called to a new district, a large new house, and a school that averaged fifty
scholars. Here was a number of grown-up ladies and men, well satisfied
and considered a complete education all they needed if they could leirn to
spell, read and write and master the first four divisions of arithmetic. In the
summer time I worked on the farm and at any extra jobs that I could get,
if I could make twenty-five cents a day. The fall before I left home I con-
tracted for and made five thousand rails at thirty-five cents per hundred to
be ricked upon the stump. In those days we needed but little money and
had less than we needed, our only money for years being silver ^Mexican
quarters and English bits (twelve and one-half cents), and fip-penny bits,
six and one-fourth cents. Sometimes we would get a fi\-e-franc French piece,
worth ninety-five cents.
In March, 1855, I decided to come to Lafayette and got on a steamboat
at Vincennes which was loaded from Cincinnati, Ohio, for Lafayette, Indiana,
arriving in Lafayette March 15, 1855. When we tied up at the wharf at the
foot of Main street there were two other steamboats from New Orleans load-
ing or unloading. Our entire traffic was almost entirely by water, either by
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND.
793
the ri\er or canal and the traffic on the canal, both freight and passenger, was
at its best. The W^abash raih-cad was building at this time, and when com-
pleted two years later killed the canal and, in fact, all water transportation.
Fowler, Earl & Reynolds had a wholesale grocery store in the north end of
the Purdue block, and the country- for a hundred miles east, north and west
traded here. There was a hotel and wagon yard on the bill A\-here tlie Oak-
land House is, and also a betel and wagon yard, known as the Fountain
House, located where the Kern packing- house now is. In the fall of the
year these yards were crowded with farmers and movers, teams and wagons.
We had four first-class hotels at this time, the Labr, the Bramble, then new,
the Jones Hotel, where the Earl & Hatcher block now stands, and the City
Hotel, where the St. Nicholas now is. These all did a thriving business,
usually crowded, as travel was heavy. I had a brother, Joseph K. Smith, and
an uncle, Ira Smith, who lived here, and after staying a few days and not
finding anything I could get at I got on a packet and went to Logansport.
From ther£ I went twelve mil^s northeast of Logansport and stopped with
a cousin, and in the neighborhood I took a job of clearing fifteen acres of
land. It was a very thick and heavy growth of young timber and brush and
I had to leave the ground ready for the plow. This was a hard job, and as I
had worked many a day before at twenty-five cents a day, I thought I could
do so again, and could not afford to hy itlle. A\'hile here I went one and a
half miles to Sunday-school at the old Bethel ^Methodist Episcopal church.
Stephen Euritt was our teacher, and the friendship of teacher and scholar
lasted f(jr nearly fifty-four years, we ba\'ing kept in touch and met frequently
up until the time of his death, in February, 1909. He was well fixed in this
world's goods and died rich in the prospect of a happy future.
While here I was well acquainted with a five-hundred-acre farm — little
do we know of our future, as I have owned this farm for the last ten years.
When done with this job of clearing, in October, I decided to go back to
Lafayette, came down on a packet, landed at the foot of Ferrv street at four
o'clock a. m., October 15, 1855. Whatever money I had earned outside of
my clothing and necessary expenses up until I was twenty-one vears old I
sent to my father, so that when I counted my money on this October morn-
ing I had nine dollars and five cents. My brother Joseph was running a
meat market in the cellar under the Barbee Bank, southwest corner of the
square, now the Emsing corner. I hired to him to do whatever I could do,
from May ist to about December ist. We attended market on Tuesday and
Saturday mornings, at the market space west of the Labr house. I tried to
learn every detail cf the business, and in the winter of 1856 I bought my
794 PAST AND PRESENT
brother's business, which included slaughter house, two horses and meat
wagon, tools, etc.. agreeing to pay one thousand four hundred and ninety-
eight dollars, making two notes, one-half due in six months and one-half
due in one year, notes drawing ten per cent, interest. I took possession the
first day of March, 1857. I could raise about one hundred dollars, but during
the year I had formed the friendship of some noble men, which was better
now to me than money. Among these were Benjamin Crist, one of God's
noblemen, rich in friendship and confidence. He says: "I have five good
steers well fattened ; I want five cents for them ; you come out and the boy
will help you drive them in, weigh them and when tax-paying time comes
let me have enough money to pay my tax. and the balance I will get as I need
it." C. M. Crist, who lives near the old home place now, was the boy. I
started out to pay those notes as they became due, and I did it and had some
money over. These were the days of "wild-cat" money. A large portion of
the money in circulation was of this class, such money as the " Alichigan Plank
Road," "Logansport Insurance Company," was largely in circulation here.
The State Bank of Indiana and the State Bank of Ohio had furnished a good
paper money for all purposes, but their charters, which were for twenty years,
having expired the legislature refused to renew them and thev went into
liquidation. This left us for about two yenrs with no banking law until the
winter of 1857-8, when the legislature of Indiana passed a hw authorizing
banks to organize and issue circulation by depositing with the secretary of
state certain class of bonds. Under this law the Gramercy Bank was or-
ganized and did business here in the Jones Hotel building. Two shrewd
young men from New York state started this bank and issued a large cir-
culation. They decided to start another bank in the south part of the state
and went to the secretary of state and asked him to loan them, for a few
days, the use of the Ijonds they had deposited for the purpose of organizing
a new bank. He, wishing to accommodate them, which is liable to be the
case in all elected ofiicers, let them have the bonds, but instead of starting a
new bank they came back to Lafayette, closed their bank in the evening, and
between the daylights they took everything of value from the bank and left
for parts unknown. The next morning the doors failed to open at the proper
time, which soon drew an anxious crowd of depositors. When the safe was
opened everything was gone, nothing left to the depositors or to redeem the
circulation. Six or eight years afterward these shrewd young men communi-
cated from Canada through an attorney here and arranged to settle with their
depositors in full. l)y giving them their individual notes. This stopped all
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 795
criminal proceeding and ended the chapter, as the depositors never received
anything on their notes.
The State Bank of Indiana had branch banks located in some of the
best towns of the state. Cyrus G. Ball, whose first wife was a daughter of
Uncle Ira Smith's, was president of the bank here during the years of its
existence. The bank was located at the southwest corner of Sixth and Main
streets, now occupied by Kienly's drug store. The bank building and Judge
Ball's residence were built together and part of the residence as it then stood
adjoins the drug store on the south. The style of these bank buildings was
the same all over the state, four large columns, twenty or twenty-five feet
high, forming an alcove in front. In the spring of 1859 I bought a house
and lot of John L. Reynolds at the southeast corner of Fifth and Wall streets.
This I remodeled by making it from a one-story to a two-story house, ar-
ranging it for a future residence. On the first day of June, 1859, my wife and
I were married. Her maiden name was Melissa E. Johnston, and she lived
with her mother, a widow, in New Carlisle, Ohio. Her father and mother
were pioneer settlers on Donnel's creek, and owned a farm a short distance
from father's farm.
The year i860 brought with it the most exciting political campaign
that has ever occurred in this country. The Republican party in the West
had such known leaders as Lincoln and Logan, of Illinois; Indiana had its
Henry S. Lane, Oliver P. Morton, Schuyler Colfax, James Wilson, memlaer
of Congress from this district and brother to the late William C. Wilson,
of this city. Lafayette had its Dan Mace, Godlove S. Orth, William C.
Wilson, Albert S. White and others. We fully realized that a crisis was
imminent, but the North had fully decided that the time had come when the
slavery question should be settled, and voted accordingly. The result of the
campaign was that Lincoln was elected, having carried every northern state.
Secession of the extreme southern states followed. When the telegraph came
saying that Fort Sumter in Charleston harbor had been fired on, here in La-
fayette the court house, church and fire l^ells rang, excited, determined men
paraded the streets led by the martial music, business was suspended, such men
as H. T. Sample,Thomas T. Benbridge, Jo Hanna, Martin L. Pierce, Adams
Earl, Moses Fowler. Gen. J. J. Reynolds and the Reynolds brothers, John
L. and William F., the Heaths, Pykes and others, headed the procession.
Such scenes as this occurred all over the North, and when the first call was
made for volunteers the ranks were filled and hundreds turned away. A re-
cruiting office was opened in a small frame building about where the Gillian
Fatins: House is. The Packard Iirothers plavcd the fife and drum, and for
796 PAST AND PRESENT
the next tliree years from daylight until midnight you could hear that martial
music. Four or five regiments were recruited here as headquarters, and their
camping ground was on the hill south of the city. If Third street was ex-
tended south over the hill, it would strike the camping ground. When a
regiment was filled the country and city would turn out to see them leave for
the front. It might he that nearly every one in the crowd had a relative
or a friend in that regiment, well knowing what it meant when they said
good-bye, but there was no flinching in those days. In the summer of 1862
I had saved money enough to pay for and I bought eighty acres of land at
fifty dollars per acre, and had enough money left to buy teams and tool^
for farming. The land was located about the center of the Wea plains. I
moved on the farm and put out a crop of wheat that fall. During the winter
I bought one hundred and forty acres adjoining me on the north, of the
Ellsworth heirs, giving fifty dollars an acre, and giving my notes at eight
per cent, interest. Soon after, I bought eighty acres more at fifty dollars
per acre. This gave me three hundred acres of land lying in a scjuare farm,
and now owned by William \\ Stuart. I had on two occasions tried to en-
list, but it was at a time when the government could not arm the men as
fast as they offered their services, but now I was situated to do much more
good for the cause than I could ha\-e done in the ranks. I was elected trus-
tee of the township and served in this oifice four terms. We organized our
township of Wayne to fill cur quota of men for the armv at call. After the
first battle of Bull's Run, where the Union army met a reverse and in fact
was meeting reverses on every hand, volunteering became very slow, and
the government had to resort to a draft to fill the depleted ranks. Everv
able-bodied man between the ages of twenty-one and forty-five was subject
to draft. The draft was for three hundred thousand men. divided among
the states, giving each state its quota, the state divided into counties, the
counties to townships, so that each township knew the number of men it hid
to raise. Here our township organization came in. Tipijeciuioe countv Ind
appropriated three hundred and sixty-three tin usand dollars to be used to
support the families of those that went to the army, and the trustee of each
township had this in charge. The government had offered a bounty of four
hundred dollars for any that would re-enlist, whose time had expired; say,
Wayne township's quota was twenty men, so by taking the four hundred dol-
lars of government bounty and adding from five to eight hundred dollars
to it with the provision that the onmty would 'Support their families, we
had no trouble in filling our quota (if the draft for three-year men from men
who Iiad seen service and were drilled. A man that was drafted if he pre-
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 797
ferred to go and take the bounty could do so, but we had cases where men
were drafted who had large families or some one dependent on them, and in
these cases a substitute came in. These years of the war were the farmer's
harvest. It was an easy time to pay debts, as crops were good and prices
high. I have had the honor and pleasure of shaking hands with and hearing
speak six of our Presidents, namely : Lincoln, Grant, McKinley, Harrison,
Roosevelt and Taft. I have also shaken hands and heard Fremont and
Blaine, candidates for the presidency. I have cast fourteen votes for Presi-
dent. Three of these votes were lest, Fremont, Blaine and one for Harrison.
In 1884 I was nominated by the Republicans for county treasurer and Blaine
was the candidate for President. He carried the county by one hundred and
eleven majority, and I was elected by about the same majority. I was
nominated for a second term two years later and was re-elected by between
thirteen and fourteen hundred majority. September i, 1885, we moved back
to Lafayette, as I went into the treasurer's office August 25, 1885. We had
spent twenty-three years on the farm. In the summer of 1890 the Lafayette
National Bank, John W. Heath president, arranged to close out their busi-
ness on account of the death of Mr. Heath. This left an opening for a new
bank, and at the instigation of James Murdock, Charles B. Stuart, John B.
Ruger, William C. Mitchell, John Wagner, Sr., S. C. Curtis and \\\ W.
Smith early in October met in the office now occupied by Brockenbrough
as an insurance office to talk in reg-ard to organizing a national bank. The
result of that talk was the organization of the Merchants National Bank
with a capital of one hundred thousand dollars. A board of directors was
elected, including the above names, to which was added William Horn. The
directors organized by electing James Murdock president, W. W. Smith
vice-president, these officers being continued up until the death of Mr. Mur-
dock. The bank opened its doors January i, 1891, and had only gotten a
good start when the panic of 1893-4-5-6 came on. From a high state of
prosperity which we had, for three and one-half years came one of the worst
depressions this country has ever had. A horse that ordinarily would sell
for two hundred dollars would bring forty or fifty dollars: wheat was
forty cents, corn fifteen to eighteen cents, and I sold oats at eight cents a
bushel. Land dropped one-half or more. These prices did not fully reflect
the effects of the panic, as there was no demand for anything. On July 4,
1887, through the efforts of James Murdock, natural gas was pij^ed into the
city and a demonstration was made at Columbian Park. We had the benefit
of this fuel for about sixteen years. Through the efforts of Mr. Murdock
an interurban line was built from here to Logansport, connecting with Ft.
798 PAST AND PRESENT
Wayne, and also another one from here to the Battle Ground, expecting it to
be extended to Ash Grove, Brookston, Chahners, Reynolds to Alonticello.
To realize the changes in the city, go back to the time when I came here,
when Lafayette was confined west of Sixth street and south of Brown street.
The old cemetery was still in existence where the German Catholic church
now is. The fall of 1858 the county fair was held on the commons a little
east of the cemetery. The towns of the county, many of them which are
now wiped off the map, or are known by other names, follow : Starting u])
the Wabash we had Americus, Jewettsport, Harrisonville (now Battle
Ground), Fulton, Kingston (now West Lafayette). West Lafayette was then
located on the river bank just below the railroad bridge. On down a little
above the old mouth of Wea creek on the north side of the river, was located
Cincinnatus. Here was a ferry and people from west crossed here and went
up the creek to the Hawkins grist mill. This town was extinct when I came
here and was only referred to by the older settlers as the probable site of the
old Lidian town. This theory was sustained by the fact that many Lidian
graves were found in the bottoms opposite the town of Cincinnatus and was
supposed to be an Indian burying ground. Li later years the great number
of skeletons that have been exposed by the washing and the plowing of the
soil proves this was a burying ground. We come down the river to Gran-
ville, on the south side of the river. Then on the north side was LaGrange,
near Black Rock, and farther down on the south side near the Fountain
county line was located Maysville, nearly opposite Independence. A great
amount of pork was bought and shipped from Maysville to New Orleans by
John Sherry, Asa Earl and others. We come now to inland towns. There
was Middleton (now West Point), Columbia (now Romney), Baker's Corner
(now Stockwell). The town of Dayton was originally platted as Marquis De
Fairfield, and Dayton. The legislature in 1831 passed an ate stating that on
account of the confusion of names that the town be called Dayton.
I have belonged to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows since May,
1858. Our family consists of four children, namely: Marcellus L. Smith,
born in 1861, and Rosa B. Smith, his wife, have one daughter, Edith Mote
Smith, aged eighteen years. Werdie P. Smith, born in 1866, and Gertrude
Fort Smith, his wife, have two children, Warren W. Smith and Loretta,
aged ten and two years respectively; these two families live in Oakland,
California. Carrie B. Smith, born in 1863, and Adam Wallace, her husband,
have two children, Kenneth and Frances, ages eighteen and eight years.
Ddoss W. Smith, born 1874, and Clara Lang Smith, his wife, have one
daughter, Sidney M. Smith, three years old. Deloss W. Smith is assistant
cashier and receiving teller at the Merchants National Bank of this citv.
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 799
This article is much longer than I had thought of writing, but there
are so many things in the way of reminiscences of the pioneer days and of
early settlers that if I ha\e been able to make a few uf these plain, I am
content.
W. W. Smith.
MONFORD PAUL.
Owing to the fact that Monford Paul did not seek any royal road to
success but began in a legitimate way to advance himself, he is today num-
bered among the leading agriculturists and representative citizens of Perry
township, Tippecanoe county, having reached the goal of prosperity and in-
dependence because he has worked for it and deserved it. His birth occurred
February 13, 1840, in Lehigh county, Pennsylvania, the son of Reuben Paul,
also of that county. The latter was born October 12, 1812, the son of John
and Hetty (Haupt) Paul, Hetty Haupt having also been a native of Lehigh
county. The Paul family were residents of the old Keystone state for sev-
eral generations. Reuben Paul's education was obtained in the common
schools. He was reared on the home farm, and when twenty years of age
began to learn the blacksmith's trade, which he followed with much success
for twenty years. On August 3, 1834, he married Levina Haupt, a native
of Allen county, Pennsylvania, and the daughter of George and ]\Iary Haupt.
Reuben Paul lived in White Hall, Lehigh county, Pennsylvania, until 185 1,
when, in company with Charles Moyer, Urwin Jones and Charles Miller, he
came to Tippecanoe county, Indiana, this coterie of rugged frontiersmen hav-
ing made the toilsome journey with one two-horse team which drew an old-
style wagon. They were three weeks and three days making the trip. Reuben
settled in section 26, Perry township, where he got eighty acres of land,
fifty-five acres of which had been cleared, and on it stood a small frame
house. For the whole he paid one thousand six hundred and fifty dollars.
He made a splendid home here, built a fine brick dwelling in 1859, and had
one of the best places in the township.
To Reuben Paul and wife eleven children were born, namely : Thomas
F., a carpenter and undertaker living at Piermont, Indiana; Tilghman is
deceased; Susanna married Joseph Peterson, of Battle Ground, this county;
Monford, of this review; Alfred, a farmer in Perry township; Mary Ann
married James Wetzell, of Carroll county, Indiana ; Sarah married William
800 PAST AND PRESENT
Roth, of Carroll county; Rebecca is the widow of Thomas Yoiint and lives
at Mulberry, Indiana; Catherine is deceased; Fremont, who livetl on the
old homestead in Perry township, is now deceased. Four of these sons were in
the war of the Rebellion and made gallant soldiers. Thomas, Monford and
Tilghman all enlisted for one year, in February', 1865, in Company B, One
Himdred and Fiftieth Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry; Alfred enlisted
in November of that year for three years in the Sixty-fourth Battery, Tenth
Artillery. The parents of these children, Reuben and Hetty Paul. !i\ed to
celebrate their golden wedding. They were members of the Lutheran church
and were good people.
Monford Paul received only a limited education owing to the lack of
schools and the fact that it was early necessary for him to work. He learned
the carpenter's trade and became a very skilled workman. On January i,
1868. he decided to start the New Year right by marrv'ing the lady of his
choice, Amanda DeLong, who was born in Lehigh county, Pennsylvania,
the daughter of Peter DeLong, a full sketch of whom appears elsewhere in
this work.
After his marriage, Monford Paul settled in Clinton county, Indiana,
where he remained two years and got a good start on the road to prosperity.
He lived at Dayton, Indiana, for six years. Then he lived with his parents for
a period of eighteen years, or until their death. In 1894 he located at
Pettit, Indiana, where he has since resided. He worked at the carpenter's
trade for many years and built some of the best houses and barns in the com-
munities where he lived, being a ver}- skilled mechanic. He is now^ living
in honorable retirement and is enjoying the fruits of his early years of toil.
During his career as a soldier he was in Virginia, having taken part in the
hot engagements in the famous Shenandoah valley and in different places.
In his political relations, ^Ir. Paul is a Republican, and he and his wife
are members of the Oxford Reform church. No people in the vicinity of
Pettit have more friends or are better known than ^Ir. and Mrs. Paul and
their children.
GEORGE \V. SWITZER, D. D.
Since the early pioneer days the name Switzer has been a familiar one
in Tippecanoe county, and only a cursory glance down the annals of the same
is sufficient to ascertain that members of this family during each succeeding
generation have played well their parts in the development and general prog-
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 8oi
ress of this locality. Perhaps one of the best known of the present gener-
ation is the Rev. George ^^^ Switzer, of Lafayette, who was born in Shelby
township, Tippecanoe county, Indiana, November 2, 1854, the son of Peter
and Catherine (Shambaugh) Switzer, who were eaidy settlers in this coun-
ty. Peter Switzer, a rugged pioneer and influential character in the early
stages of developanent of this section of the Hoosier state, was born in Ross
county. Ohio. November 27. 1818, and he was the son of Abraham Switzer,
a picturesque type of the "first settler" who came with his family to Indiana
in 1828, settling amid the wilds of Tippecanoe county. Catherine Sham-
baugh, daughter of Jacob Shambaugh and granddaughter of George Sham-
baugh, who landed in Philadelphia September 9, 1749, and whose sons
fought in the Revolutionary war, was born in Perry county, Pennsylvania,
July I, 1820, and she accompanied her parents to Tippecanoe county. In-
diana, in 1828. the family settling on, a farm adjoining that of the Switzers,
ten miles west of Lafayette. Peter Switzer and Catherine Shambaugh were
united in marriage September 18, 1841, and until the death of Peter Switzer,
March 5, 1879, lived in Shelby township, most of the time on their farm in
the northern part of the township. Peter Switzer was a man of exemplary
character, successful as an agriculturist and admired by his neighbors for his
generosity and friendliness.
l\Irs. Peter Switzer, a woman of beautiful Christian attributes and an
inspiration to all who come into her grncious presence, is living in Otterbein,
this state, at the advanced age of eighty-nine years, and is well preserved
in bodily health and vigor.
George W. Switzer. whose name introduces these paragraphs, is one of
a family of ten children, named in order of birth as follows: John W.. de-
ceased; Leah Jane, deceased in infancy; Sarah C, who married James Darby,
lives in Fowler, Benton county, Indiana; Mary M., who married James
Hawkins, lives in Otterbein, Benton county; Jacob resides in Tippecanoe
county; Abraham lives in Otterbein, Indiana; George ^^^. subject of this
sketch; William F.. a resident of Hammond, this state; Charles F. lives in
Tippecanoe county; Isnac Elmer makes his home in Otterbein.
Rev. George \\'. Switzer spent his early youth on tlie home farm and
attended the common schools; not satisfied with a primarv education, he
entered DePauw (formerly Asbury) University, from which institution
he was graduated in 1881, and having long been actuated bv a laudalile de-
sire to enter the ministry he soon afterwards began regular work, and since
1882 he has been a member of the Northwest Indiana conference, ^letho-
Csi)
802 PAST AND PRESENT
dist Episcopal cliurch. He was married on September 20, 1881, to Lida
Westfall, daughter of the late Harvey Westfall.
During his ministerial career, Reverend Switzer has spent fifteen years
in Tippecanoe county. For three years, from 1884 to 1887, he was the
pastor of Shawnee Mound Methodist Episcopal church. He has also filled
the following appointments: Morton circuit, two years, while a student in
college; Plainfield circuit, Crawfordsville, Brazil and LaPorte. In Septem-
ber, 1895, he was appointed pastor of the West Lafayette Methodist Episco-
pal church, and during his pastorate there of six years he led in the building
of the splendid church edifice that now stands for the use of that congrega-
tion, costing over twenty-five thousand dollars. In 1903 he was appointed
presiding elder of the Lafayette district, and iov six years served in that
capacity. He was delegate to the general conference of this denomination,
held in Baltimore, Maryland, in May, 1908. For the past six years he has
been president of the Lafayette Young ]\Ien's Christian Association, having
served in that office during the erection of the splendid new building that
stands as one of the public institutions of Lafayette.
Rev. George W. Switzer has long taken much interest in the work of
the Young Men's Christian Association and tvvice he has been vice-president
of the state organization, and served as its president for one year. He is
at the present time a member of the advisory committee of the state board
of trustees and visitors of DePauw University. He is also a member of the
joint board.
At the present time Doctor Switzer is enjoying a rest from official ap-
pointment, having finished his term as district superintendent. He will give
special attention to the Young Men's Christian Association, looking after its
finances and also after the American National Bank, of which he has been
a director since its organization and is now its vice-president.
Fraternally the subject belongs to the Masonic order, holding member-
ship at Crawfordsville, Indiana, and he has served as prelate of the Craw-
fordsville Commander}-, No. 25, Knights Templar, for a numlier of years.
Doctor Switzer's home is at No. 617 Feriy street, Lafayette. Mrs. Switzer
and the two children, Nellie G. and \'incent W.. with the husband and father
constitute the household. The son, a graduate of Illinois University, is con-
nected with the Baker-\'awter Company, of Cliicago and New York. The
daughter is a member of the home, having graduated from DePauw I'ni-
versity and traveled in Euro]ie. Doctor Switzer is a member of the l>oard
of managers of the Lafayette Charity Organization Society and he and ^Irs.
Switzer are hoth members of the Woman's Christian Home Society, an in-
stitution that looks after homeless women and girls.
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 803
LYMAN LEWIS DRYER.
It is with marked satisfaction that the biographer adverts to the Hfe
of one who has had a successful career despite the most discouraging and
unpromising circumstances at the outset. Such a hfe abounds in lesson and
incentive and cannot but pro\e a stimulus to those whose fortunes and des-
tinies are still matters for the future to determine. The subject of this sketch,
though left practically an orphan at the tender age of ten years, courageously
set out to make his own way in the world and, in the face of obstacles that
would have utterly discouraged one of less stamina and determination, he
won for himself not only a fair pecuniary reward, but also the honest regard
and esteem of those with whom he has been for many years thrown in con-
stant contact. Now, in the golden sunset of life, he can look over the vista
of the past and realize that, all in all. the '"lines have been cast for him in
pleasant places," and he faces the future with the calm assurance that "all
is well."
Lyman Lewis Dryer is a native son of Lidiana, having been born at
Brookville, Franklin county, on February 6, 1824. His parents, Aaron and
Mary (Lewis) Dryer, were natives of the state of New York, and in the
spring of 1833 the family removed from their Franklin county home to
Dayton, Tippecanoe county. Here, in the spring of 1834, the mother laid
down the burden of life, and in the following spring the father went back
to his old home in New York state, where his death afterwards occurred.
Lyman Dryer was but nine years of age when he suffered the loss of his
mother and but ten when his father left him, so that he was practically
orphaned at an age when a boy most needs the care, guidance and advice of
parents. Though deeply conscious of the seriousness of his condition, the
young lad bravely set out to take care of himself. His opportunities for ob-
taining an education were extremely meagre, but he improved every chance
offered him to learn and thus early in life formed a habit which has clung
to him ever since, that of absorbing information from ever^• source, until
today he is considered a well-informed man along many lines.
The subject's first labor was as a farm hand, though he was variously
occupied, gladly accepting any employment he could find, until he was
eighteen years of age, when he went to Lafayette and apprenticed himself
to learn the printing trade in the office of the old Journal. He proved a faith-
ful employee and remained in that office until about 1847. His marriage
occurred in 1850, when he went to Dayton and engaged in the cooperage
804 PAST AND PRESENT
business. He was careful in business matters and honest in his work, and
was successful in this business to a satisfactory degree, continuing to operate
the factory for twenty years, at the end ut which time he was enabled to retire
from active business. He is now taking lite comparatively easy, though
still keenly alive to all that is going on in the world about him. As a testi-
monial to his high standing in the community, it may be stated that M.v.
Dryer has served as justice of the peace for over fifty consecutive years, and
a most notable fact in connection with his administration of the ofhce is the
fact that during this more than half a century of judicial service he has
never had a single case reversed by a higher court, notwithstanding the fact
that quite a number of cases have been appealed from his court. During the
administration of President Benjamin Harrison, Air. Dryer served efhciently
as the postmaster of Dayton, his four years" service being marked by con-
tinued satisfaction to the patrons of the office. He enjoys the distinction of
having lived in Dayton longer than any person now living here, and is prob-
ably better informed as to local history than any one else.
In 1850 Lyman L. Dryer was married to Drucilla Blackledge, a native
of Rush county, Indiana, and theirs was a most happy and enjoyable com-
panionship for fifty-five years, her death occurring in 1905. She was a lady
of many fine qualities of character and was held in the highest esteem by all
who knew her. She was, as is her husband, a inember of the Universalist
church. There is now no church of this denomination at Dayton, but while
there was one here Air. Dryer was one of the most active members, ha\ing
served a number of years as president of the church board.
In politics the subject is a stanch Republican and lias e\er given his
party faithful support. On Alarch i, 185J, he was raised a blaster Mason
in Dayton Lodge, No. 103, and is now a past master of that body, having
filled all the chairs. He is also a member of the Eastern Star chapter at
Dayton, having been given the work by Robert Alorris, the founder of the
order, Ijefore a chapter had been organized in the state of Indiana. It is
now thought that he is the oldest living member of the order in the state.
ALFRED PAUL.
Of the many enterprising citizens that the state of Pennsylvania has
sent to Indiana, and particularly Tippecanoe county, none are more deserv-
inq- of specific nieiitioii than Alfred Paul, the well-known farmer of Perrv
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 805
township, owing to the fact that his hfe has been exemplary and he has
done his fuH share in upbuilding the community where he chanced to settle.
His birth occurred in Lehigh county, Pennsylvania, February' 28, 1844, the
son of Reuben Paul, also born in Lehigh county, the old Keystone state, the
date of his birth being October 5, 1812. He was a son of John and Hetty
(Foust) Paul, also natives of the same place — in fact the Paul family were
residents of Pennsylvania for many generations. There Reuben Paul grew up
and was educated in the common schools, working on a farm during the
summer months. When twenty years of age he began learning the black-
smith's trade, which he followed for twenty years. On August 3, 1834, he
married Levina Haupt, a native of Allen county, Pennsylvania, the daughter
of George and Mary Haupt, who were residents of Lehigh county, White
Hall township. Reuben Paul and wife lived in that locality until 1851,
when Mr. Paul, in company with Charles Moyer, Irvin Jones and Charles
Miller, came to Tippecanoe county, Indiana, making the journey with one
team which drew an old-fashioned wagon, the trip requiring three weeks
and three days. Reuben Paul settled in section 26, Perry township, on an
eighty-acre tract, of which fifty-five acres were cleared and for which he
paid sixteen hundred and fifty dollars. He improved it and built a fine brick
house in 1859. To Reuben Paul and wife eleven children were born:
Thomas F., a carpenter and undertaker at Piermont, Indiana; Tilghman. de-
ceased; Susanna married James Peterson, of Battle Ground, Indiana; Mon-
ford, a carpenter at Pettit, this county; Alfred, of this review; Mary Ann
married James Wetzell, of Carroll county, this state; Sarah married William
Roth, of Carroll county; Rebecca is the widow of Thomas Youndt and lives
at Mulberry, Indiana; Catherine is deceased; Fremont A. is deceased. Four
of these sons were soldiers in the Union army. Thomas, Monford and
Tilghman enlisted in February, 1865, in Company B, One Hundred and
Fiftieth Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry; Alfred enlisted in Novem-
ber, 1864, in Battery B, Tenth Artillery, for three years. Reuben Paul
and wife li\-ed to celebrate their golden wedding anniversary. They were
members of the Lutheran church.
Alfred Paul had only a limited schooling, having to go four miles to a
school that lasted only four months during the winter. He remained at
home until after his marriage, which occurred April i, 1871, to Mary A.
Brown, a native of Lehigh county, Pennsylvania, the daughter of Solomon
and Eliza (Wodrint) Brown, both natives of Lehigh county. In 1863 they
came to Clinton county, Indiana, and settled three miles south of Rossville.
where they got eighty acres of wild land, which he cleared and improved and
8o6 PAST AND PRESENT
on which they both died. He was a weaver by trade. In their family were
fourteen children, six of whom are now living; Susan L., at Mulberry,
Indiana; William, deceased; Amanda is also deceased; Sarah, of Slatington,
Pennsylvania; Adeline, deceased; Joseph, living on the old place in Carroll
county, Indiana; Mary A., wife of Alfred Paul of this review; Emma,
of Mulberry, Indiana; Catherine, of Carroll county; the rest of the children
died in infancy or early youth.
To Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Paul two children were born, namely: William
Eugene George, born December 24, 1871, was four years old when he died;
Alice J., wife of Leander Hedderick, a machinist and automobile dealer at
Mulberry, who patented the Elgin cream separator. He and his wife are the
parents of two children, Willie Edison, born June 11, 1898, and M. Murrel,
born February 2, 1901.
After his marriage, Alfred Paul resided at several different places until
1876, when he bought forty-one acres in Perry township, where he has since
resided. Mr. Paul has been successful and has a well-improved farm. He
has built an attractive dwelling and a good barn, has devoted his life to
farming and is fully abreast of the times.
As already indicated, Mr. Paul served as a soldier in the Civil war, hav-
ing enlisted in Company B, Tenth Artillery, on November 4, 1864, in which
he served three years. He went to Indianapolis and from there to Tennessee,
Nashville and Chattanooga on a United States gunboat, the "Stone River,"
having been assigned to duty on this boat on which he remained until the
close of the war, being discharged on July 10, 1865. He is a member of
Elliott Post, No. 160, Grand Army of the Republic, at Dayton. He is a
member of the Oxford German Reformed church, and in his political relations
votes the Republican ticket. He is one of the best known men in his com-
munity and is held in high esteem by all.
DANIEL MILLS.
From humble beginnings Daniel Mills has become the owner of a fine
farm in Perry township. Tippecanoe county, and devotes his attention to
diversified farming with the discrimination, energy and constant watch-
fulness which inevitably make for definite success and prosperity. His birth
occurred in Warren coimty, Ohio, November 27, 1835, the son of Hamilton
Mills, of the same county, who married Sarah Jones, also born in that
county, where they grew to maturity and married. Hamilton Mills learned
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 807
the blacksmith's trade, at which he worked in connection with farming. In
1828 he went to Logansport, Indiana, with his father-in-law for the pur-
pose of buying land of the Indians, but they did not succeed. He lived at
Athens, Indiana, for about a year, then went back to Ohio. In 1838 he
moved to Carroll county, Indiana, where he farmed and worked at his trade.
He died in that county, his wife dying in Delphi, Indiana. They were mem-
bers of the Methodist Episcopal church, and Mr. Mills was a Democrat.
They were people of sterling worth, and to them ten children were born,
named as follows : Simeon, deceased ; Nancy, of Hillsboro, Ohio ; Daniel, of
this review: Eunice, Mary and Sarah, all deceased; Lizzie, of Elwood,
Indiana ; Henrietta, also of Elwood ; the two youngest children died in infancy
unnamed.
Daniel Mills had little opportunity to attend school; however, he suc-
ceeded in learning the essentials in the old log school house near his boy-
hood home. He remained on the old home place where he became inured
to the life of a husbandman until he was twenty-five years old, when he started
to work at the carpenter's trade. At Camden, Indiana, on October 7, 1865,
he was united in marriage with Caroline Robison, who was born in Perry
township, Tippecanoe county, August 26, 1843, the daughter of John and
Fannie (Dye) Robison, the former a native of Pennsylvania and the
latter of Ohio. Mr. Robison first married in his native state and had one
child to die there. John Robison was a manufacturer of woolen goods. In
early days he located in Ohio near Cincinnati, and in 1827 he came to
Tippecanoe county, Indiana, locating in Perry township, in section 27. He
built a woolen mill which was run by water power. It was a very large
mill and did an extensive business. He prospered at this and became the
owner of one thousand acres of land. He continued to operate this mill until
1868, wlien he retired. His death occurred in 1890 and that of his wife
many years before, in 1844. He married a third time, his last wife being
Barbara Whiteman, of Perry township, who died in 1879. He was a mem-
ber of the Methodist church and a Republican, but never aspired to public
office. For many years he was one of the best known men in this county.
The following children were born to Mr. and Mrs. John Robinson: Pricilla,
deceased; Samuel, deceased; Henrietta; Edward; Drucilla, deceased; Caro-
line, wife of Daniel Mills, of this review ; the youngest child died in infancy
unnamed. To John Robinson and his third wife four children were born,
namely: Erastus, of Dayton, Indiana; Wallace; Bruce, deceased; Frances,
widow of \\'allace Patton, who lives in Perry township.
8o8 PAST AND PRESENT
i"o Air. and Mrs. Daniel Aiills seven children have been born, namely:
Harry, who has remained single, is farming in Peri-y township; Etiwaru, a
farmer, married Olivia Fretz, and they are the parents of three children, Ros-
coe, Harvey and Velma; John, a farmer in Perry township, is married and
has four children, Aldine, Laurine, IMaurine and Bessie; Sarah, Daniel ^Mills'
fourth child, is deceased ; Albert is smgle and is farming in Perry township ;
Samuel H., a barber in Frankfort, Indiana, married Hattie Roth ; Earl, who
married Emma Roth, is also working at the larlisr trade in Frankfurt. Indi-
ana, and they have one son, Harold James.
After his marriage, Daniel Mills and wife located at Camden, Indiana,
where Mr. Mills worked at the carpenter's trade until 1887, when he came to
Perry tuwnshi]), Tippecanoe county, and located in section 22, where they
still reside. In 1889 he built his commodious and comfortable dwelling, and
later two good barns, also many other substantial improvements which ranked
his place with the best in the township. He is the owner of one hundred and
sixty-eight acres of vahiable land which is well improved. So well did he
manage his farm, that he was enabled to retire in 1908. All during his farm-
ing career, however, he found time to continue his carpenter work, being con-
sidered an excellent workman, and many of the best houses and barns in this
part of the county are monuments to his skill as a builder. He and his good
wife are members of the church, the former of the Presbyterian and the latter
of the United Brethren. Mr. Mills is a Democrat.
Before closing this review, a tribute should be paid to the military chap-
ter in the life of this excellent citizen, for on July 25, 1862, Mr. Mills tendered
his services to his country, enlisting in Company A, Seventy-second Regiment
Indiana Volunteer Infantry, at Camden. He went to Kentucky and J\Iis-
sissippi, and was a member of the famous Army of the Cumberland, having
participated in all the battles and skirmishes of his regiment. At Huntsville,
Alabama, he was injured Ijy the falling of a horse, and was discharged, owing
to disability, on May 28, 1865. He made a very creditable record while at
the front.
WILLIAM J. FISHER.
Nothing but words of encomium can be employed in the biographical
■memoir dealing with the well-remembered gentleman whose name appears
above, a man who wp.s long one of the patriotic and public-spirited citizens of
Tippecanoe countv and who d.eserves especial credit for his work in securing
MH. AND MRS. WILLIAM J. FISHER
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. SO9
the imposing monument that marks the site uf the great battle with the In-
dians, Novcmljer 7. 1811, tor he was one of the leaders, if not the very first,
in starting the movement which resulted in the erection of the same.
William J. Fisher was born October 21, 1845, in Washington township.
He was the son of Robert and Catherine Ann (Walters) Fisher. He was
always a studious man and he received ai good education in the common
schools and the Battle Ground Collegiate Institute, where he fitted himself
for a teacher, which profession he followed four years with pronounced
success, his services ha\'ing been in great demand. In later life he ga\'e up
teaching and entered agricultural pursuits, at which he was eciually success-
ful and for many years carried on general farming in a way that stamped
him as one of the modern agriculturists of this highly favored section of
the great commonwealth of Indiana. He became the one owner of a large
and valuable farm on which he raised conaiderable fine stock, especially
thoroughbred cattle and hogs.
Mr. Fisher's happy domestic life dated from JNIay 29, 1890, when he
married Frances Stretch, of Winfield, Kansas, where the family of which she
was a member took a^ prominent part in public affairs. Her father was
Jonathan Stretch and her mother's maiden name was Delila Knight. The
father was born in Champaign county, Ohio, November 7, 181 7, and he
came with his parents to Tippecanoe county, Indiana, in 1830. He and Miss
Knight were married in 1849. Delila Knight was born December 2. 182 1,
in Butler county, Ohio, and she came to Carroll county, Indiana, in 1828.
Her father entered land one mile from the site of Delphi and lived there the
remainder of his life, having figured prominently in the history of the county.
Her half brother, Thomas Green, was prominent in political circles of Car-
roll county, of which he was the firstj sheriff. Jonathan Stretch came to
Tippecanoe county with his parents in 1830. There were five children in
the Stretch family, as follows: Flora, wife of J. M. Sibbitt, of Hoopston,
Illinois; Jessie, wife of P. E. Berry, residing in California; Ethel C, who
died in 1905; Loui died in Kansas; and Frances S., who became the wife of
the subject of this review.
No children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Fisher. On March 11, 1902,
Wfilliam J. Fisher was called to his reward, after a well-spent, active and
useful life. He is remembered as a very pronounced enemy of the liquor
business, having always taken a very determined stand against it. He was
a Republican in politics, a loyal member of the Methodist Episcopal church
and an Odd Fellow. He was a man of high ideals, and, being a cultured
man and of afifable address, he was popular with all classes.
8lO PAST AND PRESENT
Mrs. Fisher was reared in Carroll- county and early in life evinced a
deep interest in educational affairs. Mrs. Fisher attended the country
schools and later took several years' work in the State Normal School at
Terre Haute, having prepared herself for a teacher. She taught very suc-
cessfully in Carroll and Tippecanoe counties, later being called to Winfield,
Kansas, where she taught in the high school. Her services were always in
great demand, for she is not only a well-educated woman but is the possessor
of the many other natural attributes that go to make up the successful
teacher. She is still greatly interested in educational work. She is a leading
light in the Baptist church at Lafayette, and she is a member of the Rebekah
lodge, having been the first noble grand of the local order at Battle Ground.
She has attended every session of the grand lodge but one. She is very
comfortably located in her nicely furnished home at Battle Ground, enjoying
the fruits of an upright and well-spent life, being highly honored and es-
teemed by all who know her.
HENRY ARNOLD PARKER.
THE sire's advice.
While lingers yet my setting sun,
And life's last sands in silence fall,
Ere Death's rude hand the glass shall break.
And o'er its ruins spread the pall.
Deenes of earth, my children come,
A father's counsel now receive.
Whose fourscore years are almost run,
And soon this borrowed dust will leave.
Make strong the ties of kindred love,
And let not jealous hate destroy.
May each to each a blessing prove —
In doubt a quid, in grief a joy.
Parents, with care your trust discharge.
And train aright the immortal young.
And ye, their children, heed their word.
That on the earth your days may be long.
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 8ll
Say naught nor do in passion's rage,
But speak becalmed and from the soul.
Swift will be the words of tattling tongue,
And every slanderous thought control.
Waste not your gains with lavish hand,
Nor merit's honest praise despise.
Yet bow not down the immortal mind
To treasures found below the skies.
Their fancied joys, though ever seen.
Sweet in the future luring on.
Yet leave their surtoys far behind.
Till to his grave unwelcome gone.
But heavenward turn the love-lit eye.
As pointing there the grateful heart,
And lead the life by God approved,
From birth till life's rays depart.
And when your course is nobly run,
And yielding from this mortal clay
The final breath of earthly air.
Breathes all, through Christ, of Death away.
October 14, 1845. — Jonas Parker.
Henry Arnold Parker was born in Lyons, Wayne county. New '^'ork,
June 22, 1833. He is one of the highly respected citizens of Dayton, Tippe-
canoe county, Indiana, where he has lived all his life excepting eight years
spent in North Dakota and sixteen years before he came here. In his daily
life among and intercourse with his fellow citizens he has exhibited those
qualities of character which go to the making of the best type of our Ameri-
can citizenship. Though not now actively engaged in any business, he has
had a hand in the development of this section of the state and has always
given his influence and support to every movement looking to the advance-
ment of the highest interests of the entire community.
Mr. Parker is descended from a line of honored ancestry, of which the
following brief genealogical record is given :
I. "Deacon" Jonas Parker, the subject's great-grandfather, was a patriot
8l2 PAST AND PRESENT
soldier in tlie war of the Revolution and was an active member of the Presby-
terian church. He married Ehzabeth and to them were born childrerb
one of whom was Jonas Parker.
II. Jonas Parker, also known as "Deacon," was born at Pepperill,
Massachusetts, July i6, 1766, and, like his father, was an active member of
the Presbyterian church. On December 18, 1788, he married Ruth Farmer,
and to them were born the following children :
(i). Hannah, born August 28, 1789, married Asa Butrick in 1808,
and their children were Hannah (August 19, 1808), Charles (June 12, 1813)
and Harriett (August 7, 1815).
(2). Jonas, father of the subject of this sketch and who was born June
30.1791-
(3). Edmund, born July 6. 1793, married Nancy Hosley in 1816. and
their children were William Appleton (November 6, 1816), William Andrew
(August 2(>, iSiS), John Edward (February 12, 1821) and Theodore
Tirezvent (January 11, 1825).
(4). John, born September 18, 1795. married ]\Iary O. Lawrence in
1822, an.d their children were Caroline W'illard (October 2, 1823), Alary
Ehzabeth (March 3, 1826), Harriett Marie (March 13, 1828), John Loring
(August 16, 1830), Louisa Frances (August 22, 1832), James Henry (De-
cember 3, 1834), Mary Elizabeth (October 21, 1837), George Odeon (Feb-
ruary g, 1840), Sophronia Lawrence (February 18, 1842), Charles Oakes
(October 18, 1844), Edward Lawrence and Frank Lewis.
(5). Rebecca, born 19, 1797, married Samuel Farrer in
1819, and their children were Edmond (September 16, 1820), William
Prescott (December 18, 1822), Charles Samuel (August 7, 1825). Mary
Bullard (November 12, 1830), John Nutting (April 24, 1839) and Martha
Ann (September 2, 1840).
(6). Amelia, born November 21, 1799, married Arnold Hutchinson
in 1819, and their children were Catherine Amelia (October 2, 1819), Wil-
liam Arnold (September 12, 1821), Jonas (September 12, 1823), Edmond
(August 7, 1825), John Irving (June 18, 1828), Nancy Elizabeth (Sep-
tember 22, 1830), Samuel Shipley (February 27, 1833), John Bullard (June
27, 1835), Henry Irving (February 8, 1838), Francis Rutheven (June 6,
1840), George Morton (July 24, 1843) 'i"d Charles Delano (October 18,
1844).
(7). Lydia, born February 5, 1802, became the wife of John Loring
in 1823. and their children were James Henry (July 10, 1824), Eliza Parker
(September 9, 1829) and Caroline Lewis (December 7, 1840).
TIPPECANOE COUNTYj IND. 813
(8). I\Iary, born February 26, 1804, married Thomas S. Stevens in
1822, and their children were jMary Jane (]\Iarch 17, 1823), Edward Spauld-
ing (February 14, 1825), Ruth Ehzabeth (August 20, 1826) and Ehzabeth
Ried (August 23, 1839).
(9). EHza Shedd, born June 16, 1806, married John Ames in 1835.
and they had the following children: George Henry (October i, 1836),
Eliza Shiply (December 30, 1838), Charles Theodore (February 22. 1841),
Frank Parker and Frank Walda.
(10). Ruth, born August 18, 1808, married William E. Shiply in
1828.
(u). Xancy P., born January 12. 181 1, became the wife of Jesse Ried
in 1832, and their children were Elizabeth Nancy (July 4, 1833), Arnold
Hutchinson (October 26, 1835'), Josephine Parker (October 6, 1837), Henry
Alonzo (November J3, 1839), Jesse Hutchinson (November 12, 1842) and
Jonas Frederic.
HI. Jonas Parker, the third of the family of the same name to be
commonly known as "Deacon," who was born June 30, 1791, married Nancy
Gatchell in 1814, and to them were born the following children : Charles
Gatchell. born September 3, 1815, died November 3, 1888: Nancy Elizabeth,
born November 29, 1816; Harrison, born February 25, 1818, died in 1836;
Jonas Farmer, born August 7, 1819, died February 9, 1909; Harriet Lewis,
born February 16, 1822. died May 9, 1896; Abagail Varnum, born June 18,
1824; Camelia Drake, born August 16, 1830, died May 5, 1894; Henrv
Arnold, born June 22, 1833, the immediate subject of this sketch.
Jonas Parker, the father of these children, was born and reared near
Boston, Massachusetts, and received what education could be obtained in the
common schools of that day. About 181 2 he started afoot on a prospecting
or land-viewing expedition and walked to \\'ayne county. New York. He
selected land 'near Lyons, and in 1814 returned to [Massachusetts and was
married, bringing his young bride at once to their new home. Here he farmed
successfully until 1849, in October of which year he embarked witli his family
by boat on the Erie canal to Buffalo, from wiiere they proceeded by lake to
Toledo, thence by canal boat to Lafayette, where they arrived on the 17th of
October. Here he bought and developed a fine farm and spent the remainder
of his days. His remains now lie buried in Spring\-ale cemetery. LTis wife
is also deceased. Jonas Parker was by trade a cooper and mason and fmuid
frequent use for his knowledge along these lines. lie was a faithful and
activ^e member of the Presbvterian church, as was also his wife.
8l4 PAST AND PRESENT
IV. Henry Arnold Parker spent his boyhood days on the parental farm-
stead, receiving a fair education in the common schools of the neighborhood.
In 1849, when sixteen years of age, he accompanied his parents on their
long water trip to Tippecanoe county, Indiana, and remained with them here
until his marriage in 1859. On the i8th of October of that year he married
Rosa Alice Lockwood, and lie went to farming on his own account, in which
he was successfully engaged until 1880, when he moved to North Dakota,
where he also followed agricultural pursuits for eight years. At the end of
that time, feeling that he was so situated as to be able to retire from active
labor, he sold out and returned to Indiana, locating at Davton, where he
erected a comfortable home and has since resided.
In 2\Iarch, 1865, Mr. Parker enlisted in Company C, Seventv-second
Regiment Indiana Volunteer Infantry, under Captain Frazer. Pie rendered
faithful service while in the field and was honorably discharged in September,
1S65, and subsequently mustered out at Indianapolis, Indiana. Because of
his military service, he now holds membership in John A. Logan Post, Grand
Army of the Republic, at Lafayette. In politics he is a Republican, and while
a resident of Shelby township served efficiently as township trustee.
To Henry and Rosa Parker were born the following child-.-en : Harry
L., born September 23, i860, met his death by drowning on September 26,
1868; Charles G., born December i, 1862, resides at Joplin, Missouri; Rose
and Jonas, twins, born January 4. 1866, both died in infancy; Rose Agnes,
born July 15, 1868, lives at Terre Haute, Indiana: James AHjert, born Feb-
ruary 12, 1873, 'i^'^s at Thorntown, Indiana; Rufus L., l)orn January 31.
1875. Mrs. Rosa Parker died, and on May 4, 1884. in North Dakota, Mr.
Parker wedded Catherine Campbell, who was born in the Dominion of Can-
ada on February 8, 1859, the daughter of William and Elizabeth (Switzer)
Campbell. Her parents were natives of Scotland and Canada respectively,
and the father is now deceased. The mother lives in Jamestown. North
Dakota. To Henry A. and Catherine Parker ha\-e l^een l)oni fnur children,
namely: Murray A., born July 2z,, 1888, of Indianapolis, Indiana; Francis
B., born December 25, 1889, also of Indianapolis: Julia L,, b; rn February
27. 1892, at home; Madeline L.. born July 2~. 1894, also at home. r\Irs,
Parker is a member of the Presbyterian church, in the activities of which she
takes a deep interest.
Mr. Parker, though advanced in years, takes a deep iiUerest in the pass-
ing events of the day and is considered one of the leading citizens of Davton,
where he is now living in comparative ease.
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 815
JOHN P. GAGEN.
There is much incentive m studying the Hfe history of such a man as
John P. Gagen, who, by his own indomitahle courage and energy, finally
rose above early environments that were none too favorable, surmounting
every obstacle he encountered in his pathway until he attained a position of
eminence in the business circles of the city of Lafayette, Indiana, second to
none of his contemporaries. He belonged to that large class of industrious
Arnerican-born citizens of foreign parentage, his parents, Patrick and Mary
Gagen. having emigrated to America from Ireland, where they were born and
where their childhood was spent. They were the parents of ten children, but
the mother was called to her rest ere they grew to maturity and the father
married a second time, adding eight children to his already large family, the
combined number of children being eighteen. However, he was a hard
worker and a good manager and provided well for them, giving them com-
mon school educations and living to see them fairly well started in the battle
of life. He was a man of honorable character and inculcated in his children
those principles that make for true manhood and womanhood, the glory of
our strong American citizenship of which we are justly wont to boast.
J' hn P. Gagen was born in Sandusky. Ohio, December 13, 1848. He
received his early mental training in the common schools of his native city.
laying a good foundation for the broad knowledge he in after years acquired
by habits of observation and promiscuous reading. He started to do for
himself early in life, and soon gave evidence of a successful future, one not
only replete with success, but honor also.
Upon reaching maturity. John P. Gagen chose a life partner in the per-
son of a very amiable and worthy representative of an old and well-estab-
lished family, Adaline Greene, a native of Lafayette. Indiana, having been
born there in November, 1846. The wedding which marked the beginning
of a mutually happy domestic life was solemnized on April 18, t86q. Airs.
Gagen's father came from Ohio and her mother from W'isconsin in an earlv
day, settling in Tippecanoe county, where they established a good home amid
primitive conditions. Joshua D. Greene, the father, was by occupation a
carpenter, and his services were in great demand in his vicinity for many
years, for he was a very skilled builder. Later in life he became a grocer,
finally a general business man in Lafayette, where he met with success at
whatever he turned his attention to, becoming well-known here in his dav as
a progressive and public-spirited man of affairs, taking a prominent part
8l6 PAST AND PRESENT
in the affairs of the city in which he manifested a deep and abiding interest
for many years, and in no small measure augmented its general develop-
ment.
To John P. and Adaline Gagen eight children were born, nf whom only
two daughters are now living, namely: Emma F., who was born in Tippe-
canoe county, January 31, 1878, married Patrick Joseph Iveefe, who is en-
gaged